Valve’s Gabe Newell – “I’d rather see Valve disintegrate than sell out”

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Valve boss Gabe Newell explains that he would rather see Valve “disintegrate” than sold to another company and his employees suffer the same fate of recent contemporaries in the game industry.

The Times article mentions Newell as saying that “it’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, ‘Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate.’”

Interestingly, the article also notes that this quote comes despite Newell’s numerous opportunities to sell Valve. According to “two people with knowledge of the discussion,” Electronic Arts – a widely known purveyor of studios – previously tried to to acquire Valve for over $1 billion. The deal didn’t happen for unknown reasons, but Newell’s stance isn’t likely to change considering the lucrative value of his company. Analyst Michael Pachter believes that Valve is worth around $2.5 billion today, so it appears the long-term value of Valve is secure.

Thanks, Gamasutra.