Hooting echoed throughout the digital valleys and mesas of the Internet this week after those that pan the digital stream in the hunt for something ending with “3” bought an inkling that former Valve author Erik Wolpaw had returned to the Half-Life mob after leaving in 2017. And yep, Wolpaw has confirmed to me that he’s doing work for Valve today – as a result of he by no means actually stopped. Apparently he’s been contracting for all of them alongside, engaged on this and that as wanted, on prime of working for his niece’s juice store (which was not a joke). Looks just like the digipanners discovered Fool’s Three.
Erik Wolpaw’s official time as an official Valve worker included writing for Half-Life 2’s Episodes, Left 4 Dead, and Portal. Now he’s formally not a Valve worker, he’s dipping out and in, engaged on numerous tasks with people together with fellow funnyman Jay Pinkerton (who also left, then truly returned) and Sean Vanaman of Campo Santo (who’re now part of Valve) and In The Valley Of Gods. Doing stuff. Words, in all probability.
“I’ve had a contractor agreement with Valve since the day I left,” Wolpaw defined to me at this time. “I’ve been helping Pinkerton and [Steve] Jaros and Vanaman whenever they need it. It’s been more busy on that front lately, but I’m not a full time employee.”
He added, “My main gig is still delivering juice for my niece Jodi’s vegan juice shop plus a three-hour-a-day unpaid internship playing Slay The Spire.”
I didn’t know he and I had the identical internship. We’re not even working for publicity but it surely’s nonetheless so satisfying.
The icy sizzling rumours of his return began after a snooper despatched an e-mail to Valve head honcho Gabe Newell asking if Wolpaw was again and acquired an affirmative reply. The panners held their breath whereas ready for affirmation that the e-mail was legit. The information got here in: it was. Erik Wolpaw was again at Valve. Half-Life three would certainly launch as a Steam Box unique inside weeks. Then people seen Wolpaw was listed within the Artifact credit, suggesting he’d been there some time. Half-Life three can be right here inside days. But naw.
By the way in which, when you discover that the informal e-mail I’m quoting seems lots just like the one he sent Polygon, I swear to you that he despatched it to me first however his clarification made me shrug the story off as overreaching non-news. By the time I realised I’d have the chance to brag if I swept in and cleared up the misinformation, he’d seen my shrug and pasted it to Polygon once they requested. You can ask my uncle who works at Nintendo.
Disclosure: I do know some Valve people by way of Campo Santo, although it’s usually adversarial. I as soon as threw Sean Vanaman to the bottom and stood on his chest to show that bullying is improper. It made sense on the time.
