Whether through its dominance of PC retail via Steam or its own classic franchises like Half-Life and Left 4 Dead, Valve is the king of hardcore PC gaming. Here’s some stuff you may not know about your PC’s overlords.
In a new interview with Forbes, Valve boss Gabe Newell spills the beans on a number of interesting little tidbits surrounding the company, its worth and its employees, including:
– Newell used to suffer from Fuchs Dystrophy, which would have rendered him completely blind were it not for operations in 2006 and 2007 to transplant his corneas.
– He says that “per employee, Valve is more profitable than Google and Apple”.
– Gabe Newell owns more than half of Valve. With the company’s worth pegged at being somewhere between $US2 and $US4 billion, that makes him a PC gaming billionaire.
– Did you know that “around half” of Valve’s 250 employees began their careers as “amateurs”, making mods for more established titles. An example cited is that a lead software developer on the Half-Life series (so they’re still working on it, at least!) used to manage a Waffle House in Florida.
It really is a great interview, one you should read if only to see the amazing lead image the mag had taken.
The Master of Online Mayhem [Forbes][Pic]
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