Behind the headlines at Valve’s rocky start
My initial significant memory of Valve dates back to 2009, when Left 4 Dead 2 was launched on consoles and PC. At just under sixteen years old, I didn’t think about the creator behind the game or how long Valve had been influencing the experiences of gamers. I only knew that I thoroughly enjoyed slaying zombies, and that the game itself was a joy to play.
By 2025, Valve bears an entirely different significance, recognized as the producer of the Steam Deck and other notable video games of our era. From Portal to Half-Life, Valve has challenged and influenced the gaming industry, yet its success was hard-earned, as Monica Harrington elaborated at GDC 2025.
Harrington, the former Chief Marketing Officer at Valve, explained how the company got its start in the late 1990s. While some of this story has been shared by Mike Harrington and in the Valve documentary Half-Life, Harrington explored aspects of the company’s beginnings with more depth, including the considerable funding required to put everything into a startup.
Success Can Entail Starting Anew
When Harrington became involved with Valve, she was actively engaged in the marketing division of Microsoft’s software and game development sector. She envisioned what the future could hold and how the consumer gaming market would expand. She played a key role behind iconic Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office and the original Flight Simulator.
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However, when Mike Harrington became involved with and helped establish Valve, Monica Harrington found herself drawn into the project because of her then-husband’s ambition. Valve was acquired by Sierra Entertainment, and production began on the original Half-Life.
Harrington remarked that the journey was arduous. They quickly exhausted their resources, and she found it challenging to balance her job at Microsoft while keeping pace with Valve.
The team was stretched thin, with each member making sacrifices to ensure Valve’s success. That may sound difficult to believe given the publisher (and storefront)’s position in 2025, but the origins were indeed modest.
Harrington stated that, as she got to know her colleagues, she became acutely aware of what was at stake with the success of Half-Life. It wasn’t merely about releasing a great game; it was about honoring the team who created it and acknowledging the families and livelihoods at risk if they didn’t meet financial expectations.
Because of this awareness, Harrington and the Valve team decided to abandon their initial attempt at Half-Life, starting over after being dissatisfied with the direction the game was taking. This added extra stress and anxiety around deadlines, but the decision ultimately contributed to the success Half-Life enjoyed when the reimagined version was released in 1998.
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Striving For Success In a Flawed System
Harrington didn’t only encounter challenges with development and deadlines, however. She quickly recognized that Valve faced larger issues when dealing with Sierra Entertainment.
Half-Life was a remarkable success, with fans and critics praising its innovative gameplay. Harrington was eager to secure a “game of the year” edition for Half-Life after the awards and accolades when Sierra indicated they would stop all marketing for the game.
“We hadn’t come close to recouping our investment, and with that decision, we never would,” Harrington stated. She confronted Sierra and insisted they continue the marketing efforts. At that time, Harrington had left her position at Microsoft, and she and her entire team were fully reliant on the success of Half-Life’s sales.
“I left the office that day not knowing what Sierra would do,” she recalled. Despite her fears, Sierra agreed to carry out the game of the year marketing push. This transformed it into a “marketing powerhouse,” with sales soaring as the new edition hit the shelves.
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The Madness Behind The Methodology
While Valve’s narrative seems romantic and inspiring, several elements resonated with me and left me questioning whether the mindset behind the mega-company’s formation was genuinely advisable.
At one point, Harrington recounted when a member of the Valve team needed to take a leave for a wedding. It wasn’t something extravagant or pre-planned, but rather a necessity to assist the individual’s partner from facing deportation.
She described how the team was so desperate that they couldn’t afford to lose that person. Instead of granting the leave and adapting to the situation for the mental well-being and safety of the team member, Harrington remembered that they opted to throw a wedding celebration in the office.
To some, this may sound charming, but to me, it illustrates a deeply unsettling mentality that has been ingrained in the fabric of the industry. Developers across all disciplines have been influenced by messages (both explicit and implicit) that sacrifice is essential for success. We’ve all put in lengthy hours, missed vacations, pushed through sickness, or driven ourselves to burnout to meet the demands of an industry operating at breakneck speed.
When Harrington shared this story and frequently expressed the pressures she had for her team, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Was it worth it?” Valve’s success today has gifted so many gamers unforgettable titles, but do we acknowledge or discuss the developers and programmers who sacrificed parts of their lives so those games could come into existence?
One thing is clear: after observing Harrington’s experiences, it’s evident that…