Portal 2 co-writer Jay Pinkerton returns to Valve (Updated)

Update: A Valve representative has confirmed via email that Portal 2 co-writer Jay Pinkerton has returned to the company. Read the original story below for more details.

Original story: 

Portal 2 co-writer Jay Pinkerton appears to have returned to Valve, a year after he left the company (opens in new tab).

2017 saw an exodus of Valve writers: Erik Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek, who wrote Portal 2 alongside Pinkerton, left in February and May respectively, and Pinkerton followed suit in June. 

However, as spotted by Reddit user OWLverlord (opens in new tab), Pinkerton is now listed on Valve's staff page (opens in new tab), alongside a short bio, suggesting he has returned to the company for good.

As well as Portal 2, Pinkerton wrote parts of Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, as well as a lot of the ancillary stuff surrounding Valve's games, such as the TF2 comics.

As much as I'd love to see him pen the TF2 comic #7—something he is open to (opens in new tab)—I presume he'll be put to work on some of the new games Valve is working on (opens in new tab).

Samuel Horti

Samuel Horti is a long-time freelance writer for PC Gamer based in the UK, who loves RPGs and making long lists of games he'll never have time to play. He's now a full-time reporter covering health at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. When he does have time for games you may find him on the floor, struggling under the weight of his Steam backlog.