Half-Life 3: Where Valve chooses to take series in the future is not in my hands - Laidlaw

MARC Laidlaw, developer and writer at Valve since 1997 has revealed he will no longer be shaping the future of the company's most famous series, raising more questions over the status of Half-life 3.

 

Marc Laidlaw is no longer involved in the development of the Half-Life series

 

Laidlaw confirmed his retirement from Valve this week, having functioned as the writer for both Half-Life 1 and 2, and lead writer on Half-Life 2 Episode 1 and 2.

Half-Life 3 is a project that has been shrouded in mystery since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 in 2007, it remains to be seen if it is still in development.

It seems likely that Laidlaw would have been heavily involved in shaping the wider narrative of a new Half-Life game, although it is unclear if a script was ever fully developed for the project.

 

Half-Life 3 remains shrouded in mystery

 

Laidlaw told fans that he had retired from Valve via an email exchange, explaining the reasons behind his departure and what he hoped to do in the future.

"I am no longer a full or part time Valve employee, no longer involved in day-to-day decisions or operations, no longer a spokesperson for the company, no longer privy to most types of confidential information, no longer working on Valve games in any capacity," he said.

"An outwardly obvious reason is that I'm old, or anyway oldish. My nickname when I first started at Valve in 1997 was 'old man Laidlaw'. The little baby level designer who gave me that that nickname is now older than I was then.

 

"I had a good run but lately I have been feeling a need for a break from the collaborative chaos of game production, and a return to more self-directed writing projects.

"Where Valve may choose to take Half-Life in the future is not in my hands," Laidlaw added.

"I have been a grateful co-creator, but my time working on the series is behind me.

"It feels like the time is right to return to my roots and see where that takes me. It might well take me back into games by other routes, but certainly that's not part of the plan.