# Valve Corporation

> American video game development and digital distribution company

**Wikidata**: [Q193559](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q193559)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/valve-corporation

## Summary

Valve Corporation is a member of the Linux Foundation and game – The German Games Industry Association.[1][2]

Here's the structured knowledge entry for Valve Corporation:

## Summary
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company founded in 1996. It is best known for creating popular game franchises like Half-Life and Portal, as well as operating Steam, the dominant PC gaming platform. Valve also develops hardware including VR headsets and game controllers.

## Key Facts
- Founded in 1996 by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington
- Headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, USA
- Developed major game franchises including Half-Life, Portal, Counter-Strike, and Dota 2
- Created Steam digital distribution platform (launched 2003)
- Approximately 350 employees as of 2018 estimates
- Privately held company structure
- Developed VR hardware including Valve Index headset
- Owns subsidiaries Campo Santo and Turtle Rock Studios

## FAQs
### Q: What is Valve's most successful product?
A: Steam is Valve's most successful product, dominating PC game distribution with over 120 million active users. Valve also earns significant revenue from its popular game franchises.

### Q: Who owns Valve Corporation?
A: Valve remains privately held, primarily owned by its founders including Gabe Newell who serves as CEO. The company has resisted acquisition offers and maintains independence.

### Q: Does Valve still make games?
A: Yes, though less frequently than historically. Recent Valve games include Aperture Desk Job (2022) and Artifact Foundry, alongside ongoing support for existing franchises.

## Why It Matters
Valve Corporation revolutionized PC gaming through both its software and distribution platforms. Steam fundamentally changed how PC games are bought and played, becoming the dominant marketplace with features like automatic updates and community features. Valve's games pioneered narrative and technical innovations in first-person shooters (Half-Life) and puzzle games (Portal). The company's flat management structure and focus on open platforms have made it influential in tech culture. Valve continues shaping gaming through VR hardware development and maintaining Steam's market position despite competition from Epic Games Store and others.

## Notable For
- Creating Steam, which controls 50-70% of the PC digital game market
- Pioneering narrative-driven FPS games with Half-Life (1998)
- Developing the Source game engine used across the industry
- Innovative hardware like Steam Controller and Valve Index VR
- Unique flat management structure with no formal hierarchy

## Body
### Founding and Leadership
- Founded August 1996 by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington
- Initial funding came from Newell's Microsoft stock
- Harrington left in 2000; Newell remains CEO
- Headquarters originally in Kirkland, moved to Bellevue

### Major Game Titles
- Half-Life series (1998-present)
- Counter-Strike series (2000-present)
- Portal series (2007-2011)
- Left 4 Dead series (2008-2009)
- Dota 2 (2013)
- Artifact (2018) and Artifact Foundry
- Aperture Desk Job (2022)

### Steam Platform
- Launched September 2003
- Over 120 million active users
- Features include:
  - Digital game distribution
  - Automatic updates
  - Community features
  - Workshop mod support
- Generates revenue through 30% store cut (reduced for high-earning titles)

### Hardware Development
- Steam Controller (2015, discontinued)
- Steam Link (2015)
- Valve Index VR headset (2019)
- Steam Deck handheld (2022)
- Various VR controllers and base stations

### Corporate Structure
- Privately held company
- Flat organizational structure with no formal management hierarchy
- Employees can choose projects ("cabals")
- Estimated 350 employees as of 2018

### Subsidiaries
- Turtle Rock Studios (acquired 2008, spun off 2010)
- Campo Santo (acquired 2018)

## Schema Markup
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  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Valve Corporation",
  "description": "American video game development and digital distribution company",
  "url": "https://www.valvesoftware.com",
  "foundingDate": "1996",
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Gabe Newell"
  },
  "location": {
    "@type": "Place",
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "addressLocality": "Bellevue",
      "addressRegion": "WA",
      "postalCode": "98009",
      "addressCountry": "US"
    }
  },
  "sameAs": [
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  ]
}

## References

1. Museum of Modern Art online collection
2. LastDodo
3. Virtual International Authority File
4. MusicBrainz
5. [Source](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/membership/members/)
6. [Source](https://www.game.de/mitglieder/)
7. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
8. [PC Gamer. 2016](https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-misses-deadline-to-respond-to-washington-state-gambling-regulator-but-says-its-coming-soon/)
9. [PC Gamer. 2024](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/court-documents-show-that-not-only-is-valve-a-fraction-the-size-of-companies-like-ea-or-ubisoft-its-smaller-than-a-lot-of-triple-a-developers/)
10. [PC Gamer. 2024](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/in-2018-a-group-of-valve-staff-tried-to-figure-out-just-how-efficient-they-were-beingand-found-they-were-making-more-money-per-head-than-apple-facebook-and-nearly-every-tech-giant-out-there/)
11. [Source](http://km.aifb.kit.edu/services/crunchbase/)
12. GRID Release 2019-05-06
13. [Category:Valve - Just Solve the File Format Problem](http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Category:Valve)
14. Aligned ISNI and Ringgold identifiers for institutions
15. [Source](https://ftp.arin.net/pub/resource_registry_service/asns.csv)
16. [Valve Games and Mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/valve/)
17. [Valve | Logopedia | Fandom](https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Valve)
18. [Valve Corporation | Left 4 Dead Wiki | Fandom](https://left4dead.fandom.com/wiki/Valve_Corporation)
19. [Source](http://www.moma.org/collection/works/162463)
20. [Source](https://golden.com/wiki/Valve_Corporation-3VW65)
21. YouTube API
22. VideoGameGeek
23. [Valve - Official TF2 Wiki | Official Team Fortress Wiki](https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Valve)
24. [Valve Corporation - PCSX2 Wiki](https://wiki.pcsx2.net/Valve_Corporation)
25. [Valve Corporation - Portal Wiki](https://theportalwiki.com/wiki/Valve_Corporation)
26. Video Games Chronicle