Chet Faliszek is an American video game writer and developer best known for his contributions to Valve Corporation's acclaimed titles, including co-writing the narratives for Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Portal, as well as leading the writing for the Left 4 Dead series.[1][2]Born in 1965 in Parma, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Faliszek initially studied computer science in the early 1980s but dropped out to pursue other interests, later attending community college for theatre.[1] Before entering the gaming industry, he held various jobs such as painter, bartender, and data processor, while co-founding a satirical gaming website called Old Man Murray with childhood friend Erik Wolpaw in 1997.[1][3]Faliszek joined Valve in 2004 after the company discovered his work on Old Man Murray, where he and Wolpaw had built a reputation for humorous commentary on video games.[3] At Valve, he spent over a decade as a writer and producer, collaborating on story development for the Half-Life episodic content and the puzzle game Portal, which featured witty dialogue and narrative innovation that became hallmarks of the studio's output.[1] He also played a pivotal role in the Left 4 Dead series, serving as co-lead and project lead starting in 2005, where he advocated for cooperative gameplay mechanics, accessible character designs without rigid classes, and dynamic AI-driven zombie encounters to enhance replayability.[2] Additionally, Faliszek contributed to Valve's virtual reality efforts, including work on the HTC Vive.[1]After leaving Valve in 2017—prompted by personal milestones including his father's death and turning 50—Faliszek briefly worked at Bossa Studios before co-founding Stray Bombay Company in 2019 with neuroscientist and game developer Kimberly Voll.[1] Based in Seattle, the studio emphasizes cooperative, social video games for "smart, social people," with its debut title The Anacrusis (early access 2022; full release 2023), a sci-fi co-op shooter, reflecting Faliszek's ongoing focus on multiplayer experiences influenced by his Valve tenure.[1][2] As CEO of Stray Bombay, he continues to shape the industry through innovative game design and narrative-driven co-op gameplay as of 2024.[2]
Early life
Education
Chet Faliszek was born c. 1966 in Parma, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.[1]Faliszek attended college in the early 1980s, initially pursuing computer science but dropping out at age 17 after struggling with a Fortran programming course. He later enrolled in community college, where he developed an interest in theatre studies and took a custom theatre writing class arranged by Professor Stone, which ignited his passion for writing.[1]Following his formal education, Faliszek sought opportunities in the entertainment industry by relocating to New York for theatre-related work, but he returned to Cleveland after a brief internship paying only $50 per week proved unviable.[1]Back in Cleveland during the late 1980s and mid-1990s, Faliszek supported himself through a series of odd jobs, including house painting, bartending, and data processing, while grappling with a sense of directionlessness.[1]These foundational experiences eventually paved the way for his creative pursuits, including co-founding the satirical website Old Man Murray as an early outlet for his writing talents.[1]
Pre-Valve career
In 1997, Chet Faliszek co-founded the satirical gaming website Old Man Murray with his friend Erik Wolpaw while based in Cleveland, Ohio.[1][4] The site quickly gained a following for its irreverent humor and sharp critiques of the video game industry, operating from a PO box in the city until its conclusion in 2003.[5][6]Old Man Murray featured distinctive elements such as the "Crate Review System," a humorous metric that evaluated games based on the time from start to encountering the first crate (measured in "Start to Crate" units), positioning it as an "unbiased" methodology for assessing game quality.[7] The site included pointed critiques of adventure games, exemplified by the multi-part essay series "Death of Adventure Games," which lampooned genre conventions like item combination puzzles and disguise mechanics while mourning the decline of the format.[8] Additional content comprised satirical essays on industry trends, such as overhyped releases and corporate practices, blending absurdity with cultural commentary.[1]Faliszek served as co-writer and editor alongside Wolpaw, contributing to the site's biting, collaborative voice that defined its output.[1]The website exerted a notable influence on gaming culture, pioneering irreverent online humor and inspiring a generation of games writers with its caustic style, as acknowledged by industry figures like American McGee and John Romero.[1][9] It contributed to the early evolution of gamesjournalism by emphasizing satire over traditional reviews, fostering a community of disaffected PC gamers.[10]During the 1990s, Faliszek engaged in brief entrepreneurial ventures in Cleveland, including co-starting Murray & Sons with Wolpaw, a small firm that audited businesses' internal records prior to accountant submission, whimsically named after a misremembered sitcom character.[1] This partnership with Wolpaw, who would later join him at Valve, highlighted Faliszek's early collaborative creative endeavors outside formal gaming roles.[1]
Valve Corporation
Writing contributions
Chet Faliszek joined Valve Corporation in December 2004, introduced by co-founder Gabe Newell via email following the acclaim of Faliszek's satirical gaming website Old Man Murray, co-run with Erik Wolpaw.[1][11]Faliszek's initial major writing contributions came with Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006) and Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007), where he co-wrote the storylines alongside Marc Laidlaw and Erik Wolpaw. These episodes advanced the core narrative of resistance against the alien Combine overlords, emphasizing plot progression through Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance's escape from the destabilizing Citadel in City 17. Faliszek focused on deepening character arcs, particularly Alyx's evolution from a capable ally to a more emotionally layered figure whose vulnerability and determination underscored themes of human defiance and interstellar oppression.[12][13]In Portal (2007) and Portal 2 (2011), Faliszek handled narrative design, co-writing with Wolpaw for the first game and adding Jay Pinkerton for the sequel. The stories revolved around test subject Chell's confrontations within the Aperture Science facility, integrating puzzle-solving with overarching plots of corporate absurdity and AI rebellion. Key elements included GLaDOS's sardonic personality—shifting from cold authoritarianism in Portal to manipulative faux-humanity in Portal 2—which drove humor-infused dialogue and tied test chamber challenges directly to the lore, such as murals revealing facility history and Wheatley's bumbling antagonism. This approach blended emergent puzzle narratives with witty, player-responsive banter to heighten tension and satire.[14]Faliszek led story contributions for Left 4 Dead (2008) and Left 4 Dead 2 (2009), crafting zombie apocalypse scenarios that prioritized emergent storytelling over linear plots. The narratives explored survivor backstories—like the grizzled veteran Bill or the cynical mechanic Francis in the first game, and the resilient Coach or quick-witted Ellis in the sequel—revealed through contextual dialogue during co-op play. Central to this was the AI Director system, which dynamically adjusted enemy hordes, resources, and environmental events to create personalized tales of desperation and camaraderie amid societal collapse, evolving from urban outbreaks in Left 4 Dead to rural evacuations in Left 4 Dead 2.[15][13]At Valve, Faliszek's collaborative writing process emphasized flat hierarchies and iteration, often sharing an office with Wolpaw and Laidlaw to foster real-time feedback on scripts. This environment prioritized player-driven narratives, where stories adapted to gameplay testing and voice performances—sometimes rewritten mid-session to capture actor nuances—ensuring humor, tension, and agency in titles like the Half-Life episodes, Portal series, and Left 4 Dead games. His voice acting in these projects occasionally overlapped with writing duties, informing authentic dialogue delivery.[13][14]
Other roles
Faliszek served as project lead and producer for the launch of the Left 4 Dead series, overseeing development from 2008 to 2009. In this capacity, he managed community engagement efforts and contributed to marketing strategies, helping to build anticipation and player interaction around the cooperative zombie shooter.[16][2][17]Around 2015, Faliszek emerged as Valve's VR ambassador, playing a pivotal role in the development of the HTC Vive headset and the broader SteamVR ecosystem. He collaborated closely with external developers, offering guidance on VR integration, testing prototypes, and evangelizing the technology through public demonstrations and developer relations.[18][19][20][21]Faliszek departed Valve in May 2017 after 12 years, in what he described as an amicable separation with no drama. Throughout his tenure, he often represented the company publicly, appearing in interviews, events, and panels to discuss Valve's projects and innovations.[19][12][22][23]
Post-Valve career
Bossa Studios
In September 2017, Chet Faliszek joined Bossa Studios as the lead for their newly established Seattle-based studio, aimed at developing cooperative and virtual reality (VR) projects to complement the company's London operations.[24][25] This move followed Bossa's $10 million Series A funding round and sought to leverage Faliszek's expertise from Valve in creating multiplayer experiences.[24]During his tenure, Faliszek oversaw early development on an unannounced cooperativehordeshooter that incorporated AI-driven narratives and tactical elements beyond traditional combat, serving as a precursor to concepts later explored in The Anacrusis.[26][27] However, he departed in early 2019 after approximately 18 months, citing project misalignment with Bossa's established style of comedic simulation games and creative differences regarding the direction of the work.[27][28] The split was described as amicable, with no ongoing development of the project confirmed by Bossa at the time.[28]Faliszek's involvement helped shape Bossa's strategy to diversify beyond flagship titles like Surgeon Simulator into more ambitious multiplayer and cooperative experiences, including explorations of emergent storytelling through AI.[26][27] This expansion aligned with Bossa's prior efforts in titles like Worlds Adrift but emphasized co-op dynamics informed by Faliszek's background in games such as Left 4 Dead.[29] His exit paved the way for him to co-found Stray Bombay Company later that year.[27]
Vertigo Games and Stray Bombay
In May 2018, Chet Faliszek joined the advisory board of Vertigo Games, a Dutch studio known for VR titles, where he served as a strategic advisor.[30] In this role, he provided guidance on the studio's future VR projects, including support for the development of sequels to Arizona Sunshine and integration with SteamVR, drawing on his prior experience as Valve's VR ambassador during the HTC Vive launch.[31]In March 2019, Faliszek co-founded Stray Bombay Company in Seattle with Dr. Kimberly Voll, a former Riot Games AI specialist, with the studio focused on creating cooperative multiplayer games.[32] As CEO of Stray Bombay, Faliszek leads the team's efforts in developing social and collaborative gameplay experiences, building on his prior work in multiplayer design.[32]Under Faliszek's leadership, Stray Bombay developed The Anacrusis, a four-player co-op first-person shooter set in a retro-futuristic spaceship, featuring procedurally generated missions driven by an AI Director that adjusts enemy spawns, weapons, and resources for replayability.[33] The game entered early access in January 2022 on Steam and Xbox Game Preview, incorporating social features such as crossplay support, an eight-player competitive versus mode, and SteamWorkshop integration for community-created content.[33] It achieved full release on December 5, 2023, after 22 months and 53 updates that refined its co-op mechanics, attracting more than a million players during early access.[33] The game received mixed reviews for its gameplay but was praised for its nostalgic aesthetic and cooperative elements.[34]As of November 2025, Stray Bombay continues to work on unannounced cooperative projects under Faliszek's direction, emphasizing innovative social gameplay, with Faliszek leading several unreleased developments as of mid-2025.[35][36] His time at Bossa Studios further shaped the studio's emphasis on emergent, community-driven multiplayer dynamics.[37]
Video game credits
Faliszek's major video game credits include the following (selected for primary writing and development roles):[38][39]