Bad news reached hardcore fans of Valve's "Half-Life" franchise and are still waiting anxiously for "Half-Life 3." The sequel's future has gotten muddier, as reports of writer Marc Laidlaw retiring from Valve surface online.
According to VR World, the news broke first on Reddit. Apparently, Laidlaw already considers his years at Valve to be "a good run" and wants to retire for personal reasons.
The industry follower quoted Laidlaw as saying, "My nickname when I first started at Valve in 1997 was 'Old Man Laidlaw.' The little baby level designer who gave me that nickname is now older than I was then. Imagine how much older I am!"
The email exchange between Laidlaw and the Reddit user was confirmed by GameSpot. In the letter, Laidlaw also firmly stated that he has left Valve in good terms and the retirement takes place as soon as possible.
Laidlaw added, "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."
However, the letter did not address any specific games Laidlaw was working on prior to leaving Valve. It is not known if the writer left Valves with a working script for any future projects, particularly "Half-Life 3." The writer just commented as a repartee (as reported by Geek), "Half-Life is fully owned by Valve. It came into existence before my arrival. Where Valve may choose to take it in the future is not in my hands."
Laidlaw is known as the lead writer of the plots and storyline of both the original "Half-Life" and its sequel, "Half-Life 2." Laidlaw also worked on the numerous "Episode" mini-stories of the franchise.
Meanwhile, as Laidlaw leaves Valve, more and more fans are worrying about the development of "Half-Life 3," now that its lead plot designer has left the company.
