I think a game has to actually release to break this record. And in the article, Purchese points out that the current record holder is Duke Nukem Forever, while Beyond Good & Evil 2 might break the record if it ever actually comes out.

The wait is nothing, though I guess the definition of "active development", publicly confirmed development etc... To my knowledge HL3 has been in some form of development since, HL2, but to my knowledge there's only been "leaks" rather than any official confirmation, and the joke teaser as valve goes to game event after game event without making announcements.

At least in that case, the devs have presented playable content. I don't think I would count that if I was trying to determine the record.

The record is for time from announcement to release. ES6 was announced 7 years ago, so we're getting there but not quite. It might still break the record by the time it comes out...

And if you did, they wouldn't be able to inherit your digital licence.