The creator of Painkiller said that the shooter could have been in the starting lineup of Steam. Valve, where fans of the game worked, was interested in adding the project to the store.
In an interview, developer Adrian Chmielarz said that Gabe Newell contacted People Can Fly with an offer to include Painkiller in the initial Steam offering.
Here's a story I don't think I've shared with anyone yet. Online stores are normal now, but I remember a letter from Gabe [Newell]. I don't remember the exact date, but it was before Steam launched. He wrote: "Hi! We're going to launch a small store and want to put a few games in it. We're fans of Painkiller. What do you think? Want to be a part of it?".
Steam launched in 2003, but was initially only used to update Valve games. The sale of projects from third-party studios appeared later — probably when this contact took place. At the same time, Chmielarz was not enthusiastic about the idea.
I thought, "uh, I don't know...". We had a chance to be one of the first third-party games on Steam, but we didn't own the rights to Painkiller, so it didn't matter anyway. My honest reaction was more like "ha-ha". I was skeptical.
Chmielarz noted that digital stores have removed most of the distribution tasks from developers.
It's obvious today, but not then. Many developers realized that they no longer had to do all this. I can just make the game I want. It's still not easy — you need money, but if you have it or the investors don't interfere, then projects like Expedition 33 appear.
Painkiller was released on PC in 2004, and appeared on Steam only in 2007 in the Black Edition.
