If Half-Life 3 ever does get made it will be without the series’ main writer, as it has been reported that the sole writer of both Half-Life and Half-Life 2 has now left the company. His name is Marc Laidlaw and had been working as a writer for Valve since 1997.
Laidlaw revealed the news to a fan who had asked him about any information regarding Half-Life 3, to which he replied with, “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.”
As for why Laidlaw decided to leave Valve after all these years, he claims the reason is that he’s, “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.”
Laidlaw finally says that he’s open to Valve consulting him if they have any questions regarding Half-Life 3, though what they do with the series going forward, “is not in my hands.”
