2003 HALF-LIFE 2 LEAK

Valve suffered a huge blow when the source code for its highly anticipated – and highly delayed – first-person shooter sequel was leaked on 2 October 2003. Though the game had recently been delayed until the 2003 holiday season, the truth was that the game was still over a year away from launch, and the leak revealed just how unfinished it was. The hack was the work of German gaming enthusiast Axel Gembe, who was arrested in May 2004 after admitting the crime to Gabe Newell with the hope of securing a job at Valve. He was eventually sentenced to just two years of probation.