Since Valve’s debut in the late 1990s, the studio has become one of the most ubiquitous names in gaming. Beyond the success and popularity of its main franchises, such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike, Valve revolutionized the online gaming market with the launch of Steam in 2002.
Many of the developer’s classic games, such as half life 2 Y Portal, have received universal acclaim and achieved iconic status among fans. Now, the new version of Portal released for the Nintendo Switch has seen an interesting discovery hidden in the game files.
The surprise release of Portal: Companion Collection following Nintendo’s Partner Showcase was a momentous event for the fan-favorite franchise. Portal: Companion Collection marks the first time that a Valve-developed game has been released on a Nintendo console.
Although Nintendo had already released the game Bridge Constructor: Portal, developed by Clockstone, none of Valve’s in-house games had made it to Nintendo platforms. However, hackers have quickly figured out that Portal: Companion Collection secretly hosts files of half life 2hidden inside the build.
Twitter user OatmealDome shared the surprise discovery on the Tuesday after the release of the Companion Collection, after digging through its archives. Although he confirmed the Switch version’s similarities to the previously released Nvidia Shield port, he also discovered a large number of half life 2 within.
Although they confirmed that it was “expected to find Half-Life 2 files”, given Portal’s use of Half-Life 2 resources, the port allegedly contains unnecessary files, such as NPCs and exclusive models of half life 2.
In further testing, OatmealDome was even able to use the files to modify a playable, albeit buggy, version of half life 2 in the Portal build.
The discovery of the archives of half life 2 content in the Portal: Companion Collection comes as many fans are wondering what’s next for the iconic franchise. While Half-Life fans may not see the Half-Life 3 they expected, the Portal: Companion Collection proves that the legacy of Half-Life 2 lives on through Valve’s other franchises.