Erik Wolpaw, best known for his work on Portal and Half Life 2’s Episodes, has rejoined Valve after more than a year away.
Wolpaw left Valve in February 2017 to work on Double Fine’s upcoming Psychonauts sequel. He co-wrote the original Psychonauts back in 2005 before his decade-long stint at Valve began.
While at Valve, Wolpaw worked on Half-Life 2 Episode 1 and 2, Portal, Left 4 Dead and Portal 2.
His departure in 2017 was widely seen as a symptom of Valve’s recent lack of game releases – and came amidst the exodus of three other high profile Valve writers: Jay Pinkerton, Chet Faliszek and Marc Laidlaw.
But now Wolpaw, at least, appears to have returned.
His name can be found in the credits for Valve’s just-released Artifact (as spotted by Reddit user Trenchman). Valve games traditionally list all full-time employees at the studio at the time of the game’s release.
Seeking further clarification, Trenchman emailed Valve boss Gabe Newell about the matter – who replied and confirmed it was true. Valve News Network has since contacted Trenchman and confirmed the email’s legitimacy.
I’m trying to confirm the legitimacy of this email, however according to it, Erik Wolpaw is back at Valve. The co-writer of the Half Life episodes, Portal and Portal 2. pic.twitter.com/Jy1WSIw3ZS
— Tyler McVicker (@ValveNewsNetwor) January 4, 2019
The sender of the email confirming the return of Erik Wolpaw to Valve has given me the specfics to prove it’s legitimacy. He is back, holy shit. @Wolpaw
— Tyler McVicker (@ValveNewsNetwor) January 4, 2019
Of course, there’s no word on what Wolpaw may currently be working on. Valve’s only other announced game, In the Valley of Gods, is being developed by the newly-acquired Campo Santo.
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