Antonov left Valve when it stopped making epic triple-A titles

The art director behind Half-Life 2’s City 17 left Valve because it stopped making epic triple-A titles.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Viktor Antonov said since Half-Life 2 the studio had opted to work on episodic like content, rather than sprawling action games.

He said he also left the studio because he was more interested in the Half-Life 2 project than the company itself.

Since leaving Valve, Anotonov has worked on The Crossing and upcoming first-person stealth game Dishonored as visual design director at France developer Arkane Studios.

"I left precisely when they stopped making epic, triple-As, which was Half-Life 2," he said.

"Since then, they were episodes. Valve is a great place, but I’m interested in projects, not in companies. I went to Valve specifically for Half-Life 2. I went and I collaborated with Arkane to do The Crossing and Dishonored. I put the project above everything else.

“Valve has grown into a much bigger company, and what I really enjoy about the philosophy of Arkane is that it’s a small, core team that does risky creative projects.

"When I went to Valve, they were a small company. They’ve grown now, they’re much bigger, and I’m interested in a certain level of creative risk taking and a certain energy that can be compared to jazz, jamming or rock n’ roll, where it’s small, it’s intense and it’s about making revolutions in the media."