Valve’s Bold Decision: Choosing Half-Life Over a ‘Mediocre’ Game Saved the Company

Valve's Bold Decision: Choosing Half-Life Over a 'Mediocre' Game Saved the Company

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In the world of debut video games, few can rival Valve’s Half-Life in its profound impact on the gaming industry. Although today Valve is widely recognized for Steam, MOBAs, and sometimes overlooking Team Fortress 2, it was originally the revolutionary launch of Half-Life that set a new benchmark for the FPS genre, akin to the release of Doom five years earlier, renowned for its storytelling and game mechanics. Not to mention, it paved the way for Counter-Strike to emerge. However, there was a time when Valve pondered another title to mark its debut.

During a session at the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC), former chief marketing officer for Valve, Monica Harrington, shared intriguing insights during a talk titled ‘How Valve Became Valve: An Insider’s Account,’ covered by GamesRadar+. Harrington detailed the early days of recruiting for Half-Life, noting the studio’s global search for talent and persuading developers to relocate to Seattle. Amidst these efforts, an idea took root that never saw the light of day.

The concept was to launch a second game before Half-Life to expand the team. Harrington recalled, “The original idea was to do what they called the B title. It was supposed to be just a mediocre game with the sole purpose of team-building.” Nevertheless, Harrington was quick to dismiss this notion, commenting, “I led them through the business analysis, bluntly stating, ‘If you do that, the company will fail.'” She further elaborated, “From the outset, we emphasized going all-in. It needed to rank among the top 10. I expressed to Gabe that the only way Half-Life would succeed was if it won Game of the Year.” Although Harrington did not divulge details about the potential ‘mediocre’ game’s concept, it certainly sparks curiosity about alternative outcomes for the industry. If it had launched, perhaps the Dreamcast would have thrived, or maybe PlayStation games would now be available on Xbox; the possibilities are endless.

Further, Harrington disclosed that after Half-Life’s significant showcase at E3 1998, developers were uneasy, fearing that Gabe Newell had “promised things that they couldn’t possibly deliver.” Join us for weekly digests, stories from beloved communities, and much more.

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