Portal 2 Writer Jay Pinkerton Leaves Valve

A steady stream of high profile writers has been leaving Valve in the last few months-Chet Faliszek, who worked on Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Half-Life, left Valve after more than 12 years with the company. Prior to that, Valve writer Marc Laidlaw who had been with the company since its very beginning and the sole writer on Half-Life and Half-Life 2 left. And earlier this year, Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Half-Life writer Eric Wolpaw also left Valve.

Now there’s a fourth name to add to the list- Jay Pinkerton, whose most notable credit is Portal 2, has left Valve after having worked with the company for almost ten years. Pinkerton made this announcement on his Facebook. Little else is known about his departure, including the exact circumstances surrounding him leaving.

The departure of all of these writers is important, because it seems to reinforce the notion that Valve is no longer interested in creating major single player experiences of the kind that it once pioneered, and that it was once defined by. Most notably, this seems to put a dampener on any Half Life 3 dreams fans may still be holding on to.

It’s a shame, but it may be time to let the dream die, folks.