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Gabe Logan NewellFounder and CEO of 'Valve Corporation'
Date of Birth: 03.11.1962
Country:  USA |
Biography of Gabe Logan Newell
Founder and CEO of Valve CorporationGabe Logan Newell is the founder and CEO of Valve Corporation, one of the most renowned companies in the development and distribution of computer games. Although he once attended Harvard University, Newell did not complete his studies and left the university early. He then joined Microsoft and worked there for 13 years, during which he contributed to the development of the first three versions of the Windows operating system.
Inspired by Michael Abrash, who left Microsoft to join the team working on the game "Quake" at id Software, Newell left the corporation and, along with another former Microsoft employee, Mike Harrington, founded Valve in 1996. While working on their first major project, "Half-Life," Newell and Harrington financed the company themselves. During the development of "Half-Life 2," Gabe focused temporarily on the project "Steam" - a move that paid off. Today, "Steam" is one of the most popular services for selling electronic versions of computer games.
In 2007, Newell openly expressed his dislike for developing software for gaming consoles in general and the PlayStation 3 in particular. He considered the entire process of creating console software a waste of time for all involved. However, in 2010, Gabe changed his perspective and even announced the development of a console version of one of his highly anticipated hits, "Portal 2." In December 2010, Forbes included Newell in its list of "Names You Need to Know," primarily due to his work on "Steam" and his partnerships with outstanding developers.
Gabe is married to Lisa Newell, and they have two sons. He has overcome Fuchs' dystrophy, a serious retinal disease, through two retinal transplant surgeries in 2006 and 2007.
Newell considers "Super Mario 64," "Doom," and the "Star Trek" variation for mainframes "Burroughs" as his favorite computer games. He has shared that "Doom" convinced him that the future of the entertainment industry lies in computer games and that "Super Mario 64" showed him that computer games can be art.
