Is Valve readying Source Engine 2 for Half Life 3 release?

There are two things that Valve fans are impatiently waiting for.  One is the next iteration of the Source Engine.  The other is Half Life 3, and these fans may just have gotten the first off the cuff details of both from none other than Gabe Newell.

4Chan’s /v/ board decided to pay Newell a visit on his birthday, where they played a little prank on him as shown in the video above.  Afterwards, Gabe decided to field fan questions.  While he outwardly said he wouldn’t be talking about Half Life 3, he did confirm that the company has been working on Valve’s new engine for a while.

So when is that next engine coming?  Gabe explained that his company is waiting for a game to roll it out with.  Being such a highly anticipated game, this is leading many to think that Half Life 3 will not only bring back the popular franchise, but will be a showcase for Valve’s new engine when the game does finally arrive.

Valve has been super secretive about Half Life 3 up to this point, and the last we heard about the game was all the way back in April.