Gabe Newell

**Gabe Logan Newell** (/ˈnjuːəl/; born November 3, 1962), often nicknamed **Gaben**, is an American computer programmer and businessman who is best known as the co-founder and president of the video game development and digital distribution company, Valve Corporation. Born in Seattle, Newell attended Harvard University in the early 1980s, but dropped out to work for the American technology company Microsoft, where he spent the next decade working as a producer for some of their early Windows operating systems.

During his time at the company, Newell, along with co-worker Mike Harrington, were impressed by computer games that were being released in the mid 1990s, such as id Software's *Doom* and *Quake*. Fully convinced that games were the future of entertainment, and intrigued by the prospect of having his own development studio, Newell, along with Harrington, left Microsoft to co-found Valve in 1996, where he remains its president.

## Contents

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* 1Career
* 2Personal life
* 3References
* 4Further reading
* 5External links

## Career

Newell attended Harvard University from 1980 until 1983, where he dropped out to work for the American technology company Microsoft.[3][4] Newell then spent the next thirteen years working at the company, serving as a "producer" of the Windows 1.01, 1.02, and 1.03 operating systems.[5] Newell later stated that he learned more during his first three months at Microsoft than he ever did at Harvard, explaining one of the reasons why he dropped out.[6] Inspired by Michael Abrash, who left Microsoft to work on the computer game *Quake* at id Software, Newell and another Microsoft employee, Mike Harrington, left Microsoft to found Valve L.L.C. in 1996.[5] Newell and Harrington used their money to fund Valve L.L.C. through the development of *Half-Life* and the GoldSrc game engine.

During production on *Half-Life 2*, he spent several months focusing on the Steam project.[7]

In 2007, Newell openly expressed his displeasure over developing his software for gaming consoles, particularly the PlayStation 3. In regard to the system, Newell was once quoted as claiming that developing processes for the console in general was "a waste of everybody's time"[8] 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'."[9] 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.[10] Newell has also criticized the Xbox Live service, referring to it as "a train wreck".[11] 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.[12]

In December 2010, *Forbes* named Newell as "A Name You Should Know", primarily for his work on Steam having partnerships with multiple major developers.[13] In March 2013, Newell received the BAFTA Fellowship award for his contributions to the video game industry.[14] In January 2017, *Forbes* estimated the net worth of Newell to be $4.1 billion, ranking him 134th among all global billionaires.[15]

## Personal life

Newell was born on November 3, 1962, in Seattle, Washington.[16] He attended Harvard University from 1980 to 1983, eventually dropping out. He married Lisa Mennet Newell in 1996.[17][18]

Newell stated that some of his favorite games were *Super Mario 64*, *Doom*, and a Burroughs mainframe version of *Star Trek*.[19] *Doom* convinced him that games were the future of entertainment, and *Super Mario 64* convinced him that games were a form of art. Newell is also a fan of the American animated series *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*.[20]

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]

Within the gaming community, he is jokingly known as "Gaben", which derives from his work email address.[22] Newell stated 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."[23]