A massive archive containing alleged internal Valve data has reportedly appeared online. The cache is said to contain around 12TB of files dating from 2003 to 2013, with data miners already beginning to examine its contents.
According to preliminary reports, the archive may have originated from Valve’s old Steam2 infrastructure, which was replaced by SteamPipe in March 2013. This could explain why the newest files in the collection are dated to that year.
Users examining the leak claim it contains material related to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Left 4 Dead, and Portal 2. One of the most notable discoveries is reportedly a complete 2009 beta build of Portal 2. The early version differs significantly from the final game, with players initially guided through Aperture Science by prerecorded GLaDOS messages instead of Wheatley. Other personality cores also appear to have a much larger role.
The archive allegedly contains files from F-STOP, also known as Aperture Camera, a cancelled Valve project that was intended to precede Portal 2. Its main mechanic revolved around taking photographs of objects and turning them into three-dimensional elements that could be used within the game world.
Some of the most intriguing files may be connected to Half-Life 2: Episode 3. Valve-focused YouTuber and enthusiast Gabe Follower claims the archive includes the Weaponizer, an unfinished weapon previously associated with the cancelled third episode. References to the Weaponizer had already surfaced in a 2011 leak inside a directory labelled “ep3”.
The collection reportedly also includes early Left 4 Dead builds featuring removed animations, along with an early version of CS from the period when the project was reportedly being considered as a conventional console port of Counter-Strike: Source for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The archive is reportedly so large that the data mining community has only just begun examining it in detail. Valve has not officially confirmed the leak, its source, or the authenticity of the files circulating online.
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