Gabe Newell

Gabe Logan Newell, nicknamed Gaben, is an American businessman, the co-founder and president of the video game developer and digital distribution company Valve. He was educated at Davis Senior High School and attended Harvard University in the early 1980s before dropping out to join Microsoft, where he helped create the first iterations of the Windows operating system. Together with Mike Harrington, he left Microsoft in 1996 to found Valve. As of 2020, he had a net worth of approximately US$4 billion .

Gabe Newell
Newell in August 2018
Born (1962-11-03) November 3, 1962[1][2]
Alma materHarvard University (dropped out)
Known forCo-founding Valve
Net worthUS$4 billion (September 2020)[3]
TitlePresident of Valve
Spouse(s)
Lisa Mennet Newell
​
(m. 1996)​
Awards

Career

Newell attended Davis Senior High School in Davis, California.[5] Following that, he enrolled at Harvard University in 1980 but dropped out to work for Microsoft in 1983.[6][7] Newell spent the next thirteen years working there, where he served as a producer of the first three releases of their Windows operating systems.[8] Newell later said he learned more during his first three months at Microsoft than he ever did at Harvard, which was one of the primary reasons why he had dropped out.[9]

Inspired by Michael Abrash, who left Microsoft to work on the computer game Quake at id Software, Newell and another employee, Mike Harrington, left Microsoft found Valve in 1996.[8] They funded Valve through the development of Half-Life and the GoldSrc game engine. During production on Half-Life 2, Newell spent several months developing Steam, a digital distribution service for games.[10]

Newell in August 2007

In 2007, Newell expressed his displeasure over developing software for game consoles. Newell said developing processes for the PlayStation 3 was "a waste of everybody's time"[11] and "a disaster on many levels ... I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do-over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it'."[12] Nevertheless, at Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2010, Newell appeared on stage at Sony's keynote; while acknowledging his past outspoken comments on console development, he discussed the open nature of Sony's PlayStation 3 platform, and announced Portal 2 for the console, remarking that with Steamworks support it would be the best version for any console.[13] Newell also criticized the Xbox Live service, referring to it as "a train wreck".[14] He was also critical of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, calling it a "catastrophe" and a threat to the open nature of PC gaming.[15]

Achievements
Newell at the 2010 Game Developers Conference received The Pioneer Award

In December 2010, Forbes named Newell as "A Name You Should Know", primarily for his work on Steam having partnerships with multiple major developers.[16] In 2013, he was added to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.[17] In March 2013, Newell received the BAFTA Fellowship award for his contributions to the video game industry.[18] In October 2017, Forbes listed Newell among the 100 richest people in the United States, with an estimated net worth of US$5.5 billion.[19][20]

Personal life
Newell in 2002

Newell formerly suffered from Fuchs' dystrophy, a congenital disease which affects the cornea, but was cured by two cornea transplants in 2006 and 2007.[21] He married Lisa Mennet (now Lisa Mennet Newell) on the same day he founded Valve with Harrington.[22][23][24] They have two sons.[25][26] The birth of Gray in the late 1990s served as inspiration for the final boss of Half-Life, as the couple considered childbirth to be the most frightening thing they could think of at the time.[27]

In 2011, Newell said his favorite video games included Super Mario 64, Doom, and a Burroughs mainframe version of Star Trek.[28] Doom convinced him that games were the future of entertainment, and Super Mario 64 convinced him that games are a form of art.[28] Newell is also a fan of the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.[29] Newell also recorded a voice pack for Dota 2, a Valve-developed game, which referenced many previous statements and phrases from himself in a humorous manner.[30]

Within the gaming community, Newell has the nickname Gaben, derived from his work email address.[31] Newell said that he has tried to grow into his public image: "They hug me when they run into me. I'm not a hugging person, but that's what they want. I was with my kids the first time that happened in public, and my kids were pretty cool with it. But I wasn't. 'Dad, roll with it.' Even now, I'm learning from our customers."[32]

In 2020, Newell resided in New Zealand with a group of friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, electing to stay in Auckland rather than returning to Seattle once airlines travel restrictions were eased.[33] As an expression of gratitude for New Zealand's hospitality, Newell and others planned a free event, "We Love Aotearoa", with live performances from musical artists across New Zealand. This was accompanied by VR stands for Valve games such as Half-Life: Alyx and The Lab.[34] The event was postponed from August to December due to a lockdown induced by a second wave of COVID-19 in the country.[33][35] In October, Newell applied for permanent residency in New Zealand, but said he did not intend to take Valve offices with him.[36][37]

References
  1. Nichols, Georgia (November 2, 2019). "Horoscope for Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 5, 2021. If Your Birthday Is Today [November 3]: Video game entrepreneur Gabe Newell (1962) shares your birthday.
  2. Sarkar, Samit (November 7, 2012). "Valve's Gabe Newell gets a 50th birthday present from 4chan". Polygon. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  3. "Gabe Newell". Forbes. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  4. "D.I.C.E Special Awards". Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  5. Good, Owen (July 21, 2012). "This is Gabe Newell in his first year of high school". Kotaku. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  6. Barret, Victoria (December 12, 2005). "It's A Mod, Mod Underworld". Forbes. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  7. "Gabe Newell". LinkedIn. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  8. CVG Staff (September 28, 2007). "Creative Minds: Gabe Newell". Computer and Video Games. Future plc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  9. Tosie, Anthony. "Gabe Newell: I learned more in three months at Microsoft than entire time at Harvard". neowin.net. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  10. Keighley, Geoff (November 12, 2004). "The Final Hours of Half-Life 2". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.
  11. Androvich, Mark (October 11, 2007). "PS3 a "waste of time," says Valve's Newell". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  12. Bishop, Stuart (January 15, 2007). "Gabe Newell: PS3 "a waste of everybody's time"". Computer and Video Games. Future plc. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  13. Bramwell, Tom (June 15, 2010). "Portal 2 coming to PlayStation 3". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  14. Fahey, Mike (September 9, 2010). "Valve Figured Microsoft Would Fix The Xbox Live "Train Wreck"". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  15. "Valve boss Gabe Newell calls Windows 8 a 'catastrophe'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  16. Chiang, Oliver (November 13, 2010). "Names You Need to Know in 2011: Gabe Newell". Forbes. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  17. Purchese, Robert (November 15, 2012). "Gabe Newell named as next AIAS Hall of Famer". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  18. "Valve's Gabe Newell to be Honoured with BAFTA Fellowship". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. February 25, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  19. Chalk, Andy (October 19, 2017). "Gabe Newell is worth $5.5 billion, according to Forbes". PC Gamer. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  20. "Forbes Lists – Gabe Newell". Forbes. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  21. Chiang, Oliver (February 9, 2011). "The Master of Online Mayhem". Forbes. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  22. G4tv (November 16, 2004). Icons: Half-Life. Event occurs at 2:20.
  23. Staff (November 30, 2004). "Valve wins round one in Half-Life distribution debacle". SPOnG. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  24. "Valve Handbook for New Employees" (PDF). Valve. p. 19. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  25. "Tuned To The Dunes: A beach house honors the magic of surprise, the gift of time". The Seattle Times. May 16, 2003.
  26. "Gabe Newell". Forbes. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  27. Walker, Alex. "Half-Life's Final Boss Was Based On Gabe Newell's Son (Being Born)". Kotaku. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  28. Ingham, Tim (April 4, 2011). "Gabe Newell: My 3 favourite games". Computer and Video Games. Future plc. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  29. Fahey, Mike (April 12, 2012). "Gabe Newell Just Made My Little Pony Fans Extremely Happy". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  30. Horti, Samuel. "Gabe Newell comes to Dota 2 in wonderfully deadpan voice pack". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  31. Goldman, Tom (March 5, 2011). "Gabe Newell Gives Away Personal Steam Password". The Escapist. Defy Media. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  32. Peterson, Andrea (January 6, 2014). "Gabe Newell on Valve's intimate relationship with its customers". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  33. "Billionaire US gaming tycoon Gabe Newell sets up event to thank NZ for having him during Covid-19". TVNZ. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  34. "We Love Aotearoa". We Love Aotearoa. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  35. Prescott, Shaun (July 23, 2020). "Gabe Newell has been a 'COVID refugee' in New Zealand since March". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  36. "NZ's newest billionaire: Covid-stranded American gaming CEO Gabe Newell applies for NZ residency". TVNZ. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  37. "Gabe applies for NZ residency but isn't taking Valve with him". PCGamesN. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

Further reading
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