Former Valve writer mocks rumors about Half-Life 3 developers being moved to other projects

Chet Faliszek, former Valve writer, sarcastically commented on reports claiming the studio allegedly started moving part of the Half-Life 3 team to other projects. His response highlights the reality of game development – crunch intensifies during the final stage rather than disappearing.

On February 1, insider Gabe Follower shared a rumor about Valve reassigning employees who finished work on Half-Life 3. Several outlets picked up the information, prompting Faliszek's reaction.

They're probably right, because I can't remember a single project where everyone just relaxes at the end of development – walking by the lake, heading home early to their families... because there's never any crunch at the end of a project. Never any rush, never having to fix all the bugs at the last minute or add content. I've never even heard of games shipping with a day-one patch or a launch day patch.

Faliszek worked on Half-Life, Portal, and was the lead writer for the original Left 4 Dead, so he knows firsthand what the final development stage looks like from the inside. While rumors from Gabe Follower might have some foundation, the industry veteran remains skeptical.

In 2020, Half-Life: Alyx designer Greg Coomer explained that "crunch is not the norm" at Valve, but "in very rare cases, when there are the last couple weeks of development remaining, part of the team may choose to work overtime to get through certain periods."

Rumors about Half-Life 3 releasing soon have been circulating for a while now, and data from game files points to a nearly finished project. However, Valve hasn't announced anything yet.