Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Half-Life, a pivotal game in the realm of gaming, signifying a grand entrance for Valve. However, the trajectory could have drastically changed with a different second title in the pipeline.

Monica Harrington, co-founder and former chief marketing officer, shared insights during a panel titled “How Valve Became Valve: An Insider’s Account” at the 2025 Game Developers Conference. She recounted how during the late ’90s, Valve was engaging developers to expand its team and intended to launch another game alongside Half-Life. The concept was to release this unnamed project first to generate revenue for their flagship product’s development.

Harrington remarked, “The original concept was to pursue what they termed a ‘B title.’ This was merely to be a routine game; building this project would help reinforce the team.”

Despite her business-oriented perspective on the idea, she feared it would lead to disaster for the burgeoning studio. “I conveyed to them, leading them through a business analysis, that this approach would fail; if pursued, the company would collapse. From the onset, we emphasized the necessity to aim high,” she recalled. She advised that Half-Life must achieve a Game of the Year title to succeed.

No specifics about this ‘B title’ emerged, but it likely would have been another first-person shooter. With Valve’s aim to push gaming boundaries, they faced significant financial constraints after a successful presentation at E3 1997, compelling Gabe Newell to secure a loan against future profits for continued development.

If they had released that project, it would likely have faded into obscurity, undermining the collective efforts, resulting in job losses, lost investments, and potential disaster.

As Valve revised its development strategy and became financially self-sufficient, Half-Life eventually launched in November 1998, fulfilling Harrington’s prophetic suggestion of needing a ‘Game of the Year’ label. This pivotal wisdom later inspired a successful marketing strategy that highlighted accolades on the game packaging.