It’s no secret that Valve isn’t the same studio that it was a decade ago — its priorities have shifted considerably, andnew single-player gamesdon’t seem to be high on its agenda. However, the body of staff that makes up the company has also changed, and now yet another major figure has moved on.
Jay Pinkerton is a writer best known for his contributions toTeam Fortress 2andPortal 2. Yesterday, he updated his Facebook profile, confirming that he had left his job at Valve’s office in Seattle, Washington as of this month.
Chet Faliszek, who worked with Pinkerton onPortal 2as well asLeft for Deadand its sequel, posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet in response to the news that the writer had parted ways with the company. Faliszek himselfleft Valve last month, having spent twelve years contributing writing to some of its biggest releases.
Pinkerton and Faliszek aren’t the only writers who have moved on from Valve in recent months. In February 2017, it was reported that Erik Wolpaw — who worked onHalf-Life: Episode OneandEpisode Two, as well asPortalandPortal 2— was ending his longtime association with the studio.
The three writers all worked together onPortal 2, so their proximal departures might lead some to believe that they are planning to collaborate once again. However, we know that Wolpaw hashis hands full withPsychonauts 2, whereas Pinkerton and Faliszek are both remaining coy about what the future holds for them.
It’s entirely possible that Double Fine has contracted the trio to bring the comedic chops that they demonstrated onPortal 2toPsychonauts 2— but at this point, we just don’t know. Either way, it’s difficult to imagine that a talented writer like Pinkerton wouldn’t be snapped up by a big-name studio to work on a major project in the near future, if he hasn’t been already.
