One of the most legendary video game compilations in history is The Orange Box, which featured Half-Life 2, its subsequent episodes, and two other notable games: Portal and Team Fortress 2. This collection was a mainstay in game retail outlets for many years, primarily due to the exceptional quality of the titles included, and its striking orange packaging made it stand out on shelves.
In a recent TikTok, former Valve writer Chet Faliszek shared an interesting tidbit: The Orange Box was nearly packaged in a plain white box. He explained that the color choice was almost dull and completely devoid of flair, with the only distinguishing feature being the game titles.
Faliszek recounted a meeting where executives argued for a “refined” and “elegant” design, which was envisioned as a simplistic white box for the launch of Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (the other titles were added later). He described the proposed design as “nothing on it” except perhaps the game title itself.
“Going into this meeting, the box design was crucial because it represented the game in retail stores. We weren’t fully trusting Steam at that moment… this was back in 2007. The packaging needed to convey value,” he noted. The pitch for a stark white design didn’t sit well with the developers present.
“We all thought, ‘This is ridiculous. Just plain stupid.’ Even though these were high-ranking individuals presenting this notion, they faced serious pushback,” he continued, reflecting on how the reactions from his team weren’t positive and that it became a running joke during the meeting.
While those who promoted the white box design didn’t vanish from Valve’s records—in fact, they contributed to the iconic box art for Left 4 Dead—Faliszek pointed out how this anecdote exemplifies Valve’s culture of cross-team collaboration that has led to the creation of some of the most celebrated first-person shooters in gaming. Additional insights and tales from Valve’s rich history can be found in the recently released documentary celebrating the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2.
