Episode Two came out over four years ago (October, 2007). What the hell is the freaking hold-up? They already have the engine, they should have most of the art assets, so all that's left is scripting, level design, dialogue recording, and maybe some additional art. Four years is enough time to create a game from scratch, even with current-generation graphical standards. Valve themselves have released three games in that time: Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, and Portal 2. What, in a word, the fuck?

You're assuming there will be an Episode 3.

It's totally coming out, honest. See, it's just that the whole team is waiting for Gabe's approval on a variety of things.

Unfortuntely, Gabe is sorta having a little trouble lately...

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time

I'm going to say something downright heretical...

Who cares?

Seriously, Half Life 2, Episode 3, is utterly irrelevant at this point in time. Anything they do that would be new, different, or even marginally interesting in terms of gameplay would require an entirely new engine. Half Life 2 was a good game, but talk about over-hyped. The game itself still plays like something that was intended for release in 2002 or 2003, at best.

There, I done got my grinch on.

What you say is true, but frankly I don't really care. I want to see the end of the goddamn story! I want to know what happened aboard the Borealis! I want to know how they're going to tie HL2 and Portal together! Basically, I want them to finish what they started. Really, it's their own goddamn fault that their gameplay is dated.

I demand a portal gun in episode 3