Valve Marks 30 Years: From Microsoft Roots to Gaming Giant
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Valve, a company founded by two former Microsoft employees. Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington quit their jobs at Microsoft in 1996 to start a new venture. At the time, Newell had been working on early versions of Windows for thirteen years.
Newell had amassed a significant amount of wealth during his time at Microsoft, with over $1 million of his own money. However, it was Harrington who suggested they use this capital to invest in games.
The two set up shop in Kirkland, Washington, just five miles from the Microsoft campus in Redmond. Despite their savings covering only half of the venture's costs, a local publisher, Sierra On-Line, agreed to provide additional funding of around $1 million in exchange for 30% of Valve's revenue and intellectual property.
Newell was unable to part with his own shares, so he borrowed against them instead. The gamble paid off two years later when Half-Life was released in November 1998 and sold 2.5 million copies within a year.