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Report: Valve's Internal Database Exposed, Half-Life 3 Team Revealed
Yesterday, for a brief amount of time, Valve's internal project-management system was exposed to the world. Information culled during that time reveals a core team of Valve veterans and other experienced developers.
According to the report on CVG (from data first outed on Reddit), the team is made up of approximately 50 people. This follows news we reported yesterday that Valve had filed for a Half-Life 3 trademark.
Click to enlarge. (Image: Reddit)
According to the information, the core team includes former Half-Life 2 modder (now Valve employee) Adam Foster and David Speyrer, a designer and supervisor on Half-Life 2. Some others working on the project include Karl Whinnie (credited on Left 4 Dead), Ken Banks (level designer and artist, previously with id and Gearbox), and Sergiy Migdalskiy (previously behind the physics engine for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and the animation system powering Far Cry).
These new blips about one of the most coveted games in the industry follow a week of announcements about Valve's new operating system, hardware plans, and a non-traditional controller. One thing missing last week was any talk of new and exclusive game experiences that might help catalyze interest in the SteamOS platform.
Our Take
First a trademark for Half-Life 3 appears (possibly needlessly since Valve still holds the Half-Life mark, which is still live). Now, Valve's internal team list is exposed. It's hard not to look at these two occurrences as a cleverly crafted marketing campaign.
I've stated that SteamOS needs a killer app, and Half-Life 3 would certainly motivate interest. Valve squandered an opportunity to announce just that last week. Three announcements, with the last being one of the biggest game announcements in recent history would have been spectacular.
Instead of ending a week of lackluster announcements with the fireworks of certainty, Valve just lit a match of potential. Here's hoping that flame finds purchase.
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