Jun 21, 2016 07:51 AM EDT By Ron S., UniversityHerald Reporter

Valve may have "Left 4 Dead 3" in the works, with a possible release date on 2017; "Half-Life 3" reportedly put on hold to give way to the first-person zombie shooter.

Recent rumors have surfaced that Valve made "Left 4 Dead 3" a priority, sacrificing the production of another highly requested game, "Half-Life 3," GameRant reported.

The rumors seemed to have surfaced when Marc Laidlaw, "Half-Life" writer from Valve, had left the company. Fans were left worried that the development of "Half-Life 3" would be pushed back even further.

As recent reports have stated, this paved the way for "Left 4 Dead 3" to be Valve's top gaming priority. And with the last game released back in 2009, fans has been requesting a sequel since then; and this time, Valve may have heard their requests, according to Express.

The possible latest installment to the first-person zombie survival game should come within next year. Yet little has been revealed but rumors speculate that the game would still feature four main characters, as the previous two games have featured.

The game would also feature yet another solo female character, which is reportedly named Katherine. The other characters are speculated to be a gangster named Irvin, a comic book enthusiast named Keenan, as well as a Kenpo martial artist named Garrett Jr.

The specific storyline is not yet known, but the game apparently would feature maps from the previous games. The ones included are some of the most popular maps from the series, which include "No Mercy," Cliff-Hanger," "Early Destination," as well as "Crashland," to name a few, Ecumenical News reported.

Valve has yet to officially announce its release date for "Left 4 Dead 3." With this amount of detail from the game surfacing, this may confirm the postponement of another highly anticipated title from Valve, which is "Half-Life 3."

It would seem that fans would likely fight hordes of zombies sooner rather than uncovering conspiracies within the "Half-Life" world.

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