Half-Life Writer Marc Laidlaw Has Left Valve

Mark Laidlaw has left the building….the Valve building, that is. One of the company’s most significant writers explained the reason for his departure in an E-mail to a fan, which was later posted online: in summary, he’s getting too old for this.
“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 began.
“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.” He concluded with, “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. My friends know they can consult me if questions come up that I can help them answer.”
This is a major setback for anyone who has been holding out hope for Half-Life 3, as Laidlaw was the solitary writer behind the plot of Half-Lives 1 and 2. It’s unknown if he finished the plot for Half-Life 3 before he left, or if he started it, or if anyone has started anything. Being a Half-Life fan is perhaps the most frustrating fandom one can belong to. At least for GoT fans there’s hope that Martin MIGHT get back to writing at some point before he croaks. It’s no longer the case here.