A summer intern once saved Valve from a near-fatal lawsuit after a publisher 'decided to go World War 3' on it, and it all hinged on one email
First Spotted by 80 Level, Secret Tape's massive documentary on the development of Half-Life 2 contains an almost unbelievable story of how Valve was saved from legal and financial ruin thanks to the actions of a single summer intern, paving the way for PC gaming as we know it today.
The trouble started when Valve and Half-Life's original publisher, Sierra, was acquired by French conglomerate Vivendi. Vivendi began distributing Counter-Strike to South Korean internet cafes, which Valve objected to, arguing that it fell outside the bounds of the original distribution deal with Sierra. Valve COO Scott Lynch recalled seeing this as a minor dispute, with Valve only seeking recognition that this lay beyond the original agreement. When Vivendi refused to budge, Valve took it to court, still seeking only recognition and coverage of what were, at this juncture, nominal legal fees.
According to Lynch, «Vivendi decided to go World War 3» in response. «The next thing we know, here comes this big stack of counter-claims,» said Valve general counsel Karl Quackenbush. «Everything from canceling the 2001 agreement, to obtaining ownership of all the Half-Life IP, to keeping us from doing Steam.»
It's difficult to imagine looking back now, but in the circa 2002-2004 span of this story, Valve was still just a normal, if particularly successful and influential game developer, while the multinational Vivendi brought overwhelming firepower to the legal dispute. What's more, Vivendi was allegedly out for blood, targeting Lynch and Newell personally in addition to suing Valve. «We're gonna put Valve out of business, and we're gonna bankrupt the two of you,» Lynch said of Vivendi's strategy.
«The company was pretty close to going bankrupt,» Newell recalled. «I was pretty close to going personally bankrupt—we went all in, there was no money left.»
«There came a point where Gabe had pretty much used up his liquid assets and he was like, 'Should I put the house on the market?'» said Lynch.
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