Newell didn’t want to force the original Half-Life out the door before it was ready.
Half-Life was originally slated to be released in November of 1997.
The game simply hadn’t come together into a more cohesive whole.
With just three months left to go before release, Valve made the decision to delay the game.
It would eventually release a year later in November 1998.
Newell in the documentary elaborated on the decision with some concise words of wisdom.
“Late is just for a little while,” Newell said.
“Suck is forever.
That’s not the relationship we want to have with our customers.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Half-Life would go on to become one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time.
If the team had decided to go ahead with a 1997 release date?
Maybe that wouldn’t be the case.
That wasn’t the only choice quote Newell gave as part of the Half-Life anniversary documentary.
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