Gabe Newell Reflects on Founding Valve, Inspired by Doom's Impact
Gaming Industry/Tech

Gabe Newell Reflects on Founding Valve, Inspired by Doom's Impact

Gabe Newell discusses the founding of Valve and the influence of Doom in shaping the gaming industry.

In a recent interview, Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, shared insights about how the game Doom inspired him to create his own gaming company after recognizing an opportunity overlooked by Microsoft. Newell, who was working at Microsoft at the time, expressed his frustrations over the industry’s fragmented approach to graphics technology, noting how developers were often creating cumbersome interfaces for different hardware.

“And if I was wrong, I’d have to go back to Microsoft,” he reflected.

He highlighted that the rise of Doom and its successful distribution model caught his attention, demonstrating effective ways of engaging with customers. Newell reached out to id Software to offer a port of Doom to Windows, aimed at proving that high-performance games could thrive on the platform.

He noted, “Id was out-distributing Microsoft with Doom… to the point that there were more people using Doom than who were using Windows.”

Ultimately, Newell felt that the changing landscape of technology warranted a new business model that could adequately address the opportunities of the Internet.

“I was willing to sort of put my money where my mouth was on the design of the game and on the design of the company, and that’s when we started Valve.”

Indeed, Newell asserts that Valve’s creation can be traced back to the resistance he faced from developers at Microsoft and the fervent energy surrounding Doom.

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