Half-Life Publisher Sierra Almost Abandoned The Game Before Launch

Half-Life’s original publisher, Sierra, almost abandoned the highly influential FPS, nearly pulling its marketing funds before the GOTY edition launch. As retold by former Valve CMO, before Half-Life became a massive hit, Sierra was about to make a controversial decision that could have led the game to “quietly die.”

Half-Life 1 kicked off one of the most influential video game franchises ever, as the title completely changed the way in which the first-person shooter genre was approached, departing from the genre’s norms. The game focused on bringing immersive storytelling without pausing gameplay, using scripted sequences instead of traditional cutscenes—which was what the industry was used to. But in addition to its revolutionary approach to narrative, it also combined combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving elements, turning the game into a major success. However, its original publisher was on the verge of making a serious mistake just before the game began to gain traction.

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As reported by GamesRadar, former Valve CMO Monica Harrington commented during a Game Developers Conference panel on how Sierra almost abandoned the highly influential Half-Life 1. Sierra was planning to pull all of the game’s marketing funds to focus on other titles before Valve made back its money, meaning Half-Life would have likely faded away. Harrington admitted that after hearing Sierra’s plans, she felt “like someone had slapped me across the face.” She recalled how, before this conversation, she had thought the publisher would want to congratulate them for the positive feedback the game was receiving and start planning a relaunch with updated packaging and GOTY messaging—which turned out to be a far cry from Sierra’s actual plans.

Sierra Nearly Pulled Half-Life’s Marketing Funds Before It Became a Hit

After hearing that the publisher planned to abandon the game before the Half-Life franchise made history and paved the way for FPS titles, Harrington remembered how she had to stand up for it and confront Sierra. She had to threaten the publisher by saying that if it took marketing funds off the game, Valve would let the game industry know what it was doing and “how screwed up Sierra is.” Shortly after the meeting, Sierra reached back and outlined plans to launch a new GOTY edition, which eventually became a success, making Half-Life and Valve a crucial part of video game history.

Despite how old the original game is, Half-Life 1 received a huge update in 2023 to mark its 25th anniversary, adding new features, fixing bugs, and restoring lost content. Although the first game remains a cherished title among fans, the community is looking forward to knowing more about Half-Life 3, which could be announced in 2025, according to recent rumors.

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Released

November 19, 1998

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

Publisher(s)

Sierra Studios