November 25th 2023.
Gabe Newell used to be one of the most revered game developers in the world. From the iconic Half-Life franchise to the revolutionary Portal series, his contributions to the video game industry were undeniable and influential. Yet, it has been twelve years since Portal 2, the last game he developed, and it seems he is no longer interested in making games.
This has left many fans of the iconic developer, including myself, wondering what happened. After all, why is someone so talented and invested in the games industry so disinterested in contributing to it?
The recent Half-Life 25th anniversary video provided some insight into this question. During the video, Gabe uttered a version of the famous, ‘A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad’ quote. This piqued my interest, as I have always considered Gabe to be equally as talented and influential as Shigeru Miyamoto. The only difference is that Miyamoto didn't just give up after a handful of games.
Gabe's other quote from the video was equally thought-provoking. He argued against video games being too realistic, remarking that realism is not fun. He went on to explain that he plays games to have fun, and not to do mundane tasks like writing up grocery lists. This resonated with me as I think this sentiment is not appreciated enough by other developers. We have too many simulations and not enough games, and yet I don’t think anyone would think of Half-Life or Portal as being particularly wacky or silly.
It is his life, and he can do whatever he wants, but the fact that Gabe is more interested in making the Steam Deck 2 than Half-Life 3 is still saddening. Even by the time of Portal 2, Valve were starting to slow down significantly. Half-Life 2: Episode Three never materialized, and the whole concept of Valve as a video game developer quickly disappeared. We have been robbed of a decade and a half of one of the greatest video game companies ever, and I truly don't understand why.
Maybe one day there will be a proper Half-Life 3, but it seems more and more likely that we will never get to experience it. Maybe Valve are content to remain in the shadows and fade into memory. Everything they've done for the last decade and more suggests this, and it's a real shame.
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