Gamespot have once again put their rumor control mill into fully fueled action in a short Q&A, and part of it suggests that HL2 has already went gold. This is not true for certain, but it could mean that on Monday HL2 might just go gold.

"RUMOR #1: Half-Life 2 is gold. Really. No foolin'. Honest.


Source: If we told you, we'd have to kill you.

The official story: Both VU Games and Valve declined comment.

What we heard: Ever since the release candidate for Half-Life 2 was submitted to VU Games in mid-September, a piñata has hung in the lobby of Valve's headquarters. The plan: to bust the sucker open when the game achieved gold status. Earlier today, GameSpot learned from an informed sourced that "the piñata has been broken" and the game has gone gold. Further evidence of the game's completion was a press release issued this afternoon touting the first review of "the entire game." Though nothing official has been announced yet, it appears the fat lady is at last clearing her throat.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus."

Stay tuned, this could be for real.