Mike Harrington
On January 15, 2000, after the success of Half-Life, Harrington dissolved his partnership with Newell and left Valve to spend time with his wife. "At Microsoft you always wonder, 'Is it me being successful or is it Microsoft?' But with Half-Life I knew Gabe and I had built that product and company from scratch." According to Newell, Harrington did not want to risk another project after the success of Half-Life.