Randy Pitchford says Valve's Gabe Newell called him directly to pitch Half‑Life: Opposing Force

In a new documentary, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford recounted his time at Rebel Boat Rocker while developing an FPS shooter dubbed Prax War, under a publishing deal with EA. However, EA later canceled the project, only for him to be contacted by Valve’s Gabe Newell to work on Half-Life: Opposing Force.

After leaving 3D Realms in 1997, known for their work on the Duke Nukem franchise, Randy Pitchford founded Rebel Boat Rocker along with several colleagues. There, they started work on Prax War, complete with its own engine and IP. 

Rebel Boat Rocker faced a few hurdles while developing the game and starting a new company from scratch. In the 24 ‘Til Launch: The Making of Borderlands 4 documentary by Shacknews, Pitchford said, “It was very difficult. We were taking every risk building a new game, creating a new engine, building a new IP, and building a new company all at the same time.”

However, in January 1999, EA canceled Prax War over concerns of the project’s viability, leaving the team without a publisher, and many colleagues departed. As all this was happening, Pitchford rallied a core group of trusted colleagues from Rebel Boat Rocker, including Brian Martel, Stephen Bahl, Landon Montgomery, and Rob Heronimus, to form Gearbox Software in February 1999. 

Pitchford said, “I called some of the folks that I’d respected the most that I’d been working with and asked them if they wanted to kind of come along and let’s get this thing going.”

Around this time, the original Half-Life was released in 1998, and inspired by the game’s story, Pitchford thought of an expanded storyline that ran parallel to the events at the Black Mesa Research Facility, one that featured the perspective of U.S. military personnel.

According to Randy Pitchford, Gabe Newell happened to contact him directly about his idea. Pitchford recollected the events and said, “I don’t believe in manifestation; I believe in coincidence. Literally that afternoon, Gabe Newell calls me because he had heard that we had left Rebel Boat Rocker and that I was starting a new thing, and he wanted to see if we would be interested in working on Half-Life.”

Pitchford boarded a plane to meet with Valve in Kirkland, Washington, where he presented his pitch for what we know as Half-Life: Opposing Force, featuring protagonist, U.S. Marine Corporal Adrian Shephard, assigned to the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit.

However, things didn’t pan out so smoothly because at the time, the Half-Life IP was owned by Sierra On-Line. With Valve’s endorsement, Pitchford successfully convinced Sierra On-Line and secured the project.

Half-Life: Opposing Force was released on November 19, 1999, one year after Half-Life. By 2002, it had sold 1.1 million copies and was critically acclaimed as a worthy sequel to the original.

Buy Borderlands 4 on Amazon here.