Gabe Newell

Gabe Newell: Biography in Details

Who is Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell is an American computer programmer and businessman, best known as the co-founder of ‘Valve Corporation.’

He is one of the pioneers in the field of advanced graphics and artificial intelligence (AI) in gaming. Also, he is the producer of the ‘Windows’ operating system versions 1.01, 1.02, and 1.03.

Gabe Newell- Age, Parents, Ethnicity

He was born Gabe Logan Newell, on November 3, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, US. His zodiac is Scorpio.

As he grew older, his interest in solving puzzles developed into a passion for computer games and information technology (IT).

Gabe Newell has not revealed his parent’s information on social media as he does not likes to share his personal and private life with others.

In which school did Gabe Newell attend?

Newell completed his education at Davis Senior High School in Davis, California. Then, Gabe studied at ‘Harvard University from 1980 to 1983. However, he soon dropped out of college to take up a job with the American IT giant ‘Microsoft.’

He later stated that he had learned much more during his first three months with ‘Microsoft’ than he could ever have at ‘Harvard University.’ Newell had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur in his own right from the time he started working.

Gabe Newell- Professional Life, Career

Gabe Newell started his career in computer programming with ‘Microsoft’ in 1983 and continued to work with them for the next 13 years. While with ‘Microsoft,’ he held several important portfolios, mainly in the field of program management and operating systems.

He was the driving force behind the introduction of ‘Windows NT’ by ‘Microsoft.’ While with the company, he traveled widely and visited many software companies to enrich himself with practical knowledge of how the industry functioned.

Newell and his co-worker Mike Harrington quit ‘Microsoft,’ as ‘Microsoft Millionaires,’ to start their own organization, ‘Valve Corporation,’ in 1996. They jointly funded the development of the science-fiction first-person shooter video games Half-Life’ and ‘GoldSrc’ for ‘Microsoft Windows.’

He is one of the pioneers in the field of advanced graphics and AI in gaming. Over 1500 games are distributed by ‘Steam,’ which has over 200 million users. ‘DOTA 2’ and ‘Team Fortress 2’ are the most popular video games on ‘Steam.’ In 2009, ‘Steam’ acquired over 70% of the digital distribution market for video gaming.

Gabe Newell also developed ‘Steam for Schools,’ an educational software that is widely used in schools to teach physics, chemistry, and math in a more interesting manner.

The software is interactive in nature, with a view to triggering young innovative minds. He was instrumental in the development of ‘PlayStation 3’ for ‘Sony,’ although he once termed it “a waste of everybody’s time.”

Its ‘Portal 2,’ which was a first-person puzzle video-game platform, was developed by ‘Valve Corporation.’ He appeared on stage at the 2010 ‘Electronic Entertainment Expo’ to deliver a talk on software.

He also developed the ‘HTC Vive virtual-reality headset hardware that uses ‘Steam’ and is in stiff competition with ‘Apple’s ‘App Store’ on ‘Mac.’

At present, his role at ‘Valve Corporation’ is that of the managing director of game development, with more emphasis on technology than game designing. However, he has always believed that keeping up with the latest trends and contemporary designs is very important for a game to succeed.

Awards

• 2005– Game Developers Choice (Best Game- Half-Life 2)
• 2009– BAFTA Games Award (Best Multiplayer- Left 4 Dead)
• December 2010– Forbes named him ‘A Name You Should Know
• 2013– Newell was added to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame
• March 2013– Honored with the BAFTA Fellowship award
• October 2017– Listed in Forbes’s top 100 richest people in the United States.

Gabe Newell- Net Worth, Salary

Gabe Newell has earned a huge amount from his profession working as a Businessman and Programmer. It is reported that Gabe has an estimated net worth of over $ 3.9 billion as of 2022.

Is Gabe Newell involved in any rumors and controversies?

Gabe Newell has never been part of any rumors and controversy till now. He prefers enjoying his personal life and does not want to merge it with his professional life.

Body Features- Height, Weight

Gabe has decent looks and an admirable personality. He stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches and has a weight of 98 kg. Furthermore, he has green eyes whereas his hair is brown.

Social Media

Regarding his social media presence, Gabe Newell has 2.7k followers on Instagram, and 19k followers on Twitter. But he is not active on

Facebook, Tiktok, and Youtube.

Trivia/Facts

• As of 2022, Newell is 59 years old.
• He suffered from ‘Fuchs’ dystrophy,’ a congenital disease that affects the cornea, and recovered from his condition by 2007, after two cornea transplants.
• Gabe’s approach to dealing with piracy is to give consumers products that are better than what any pirate company can reproduce.
• He is also believed to have been critical of ‘Windows 8’ and the multiplayer online gaming service ‘Xbox Live,’ which he described as a catastrophe.
• He was inspired by Michael Abrash, who quit ‘Microsoft’ to produce the gaming software ‘Quake’ at ‘id Software.’

Also, read Bryan Kest, Bruce Somers Jr., and Abigail Johnson.

Gabe Newell's Birthday Dates