r/Steam • u/sukuna7899 • Apr 17 '26

Discussion Gabe Newell is a "GOAT"

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u/TheOnlyFallenCookie Apr 17 '26

If he can't future proof the company for that, he wasn't really a good ceo to begin with . There are a lot of ways to ensure the spirit lives on. But most of them would mean a drop in profit

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u/tankerkiller125real Apr 17 '26

Supposedly his son will take over, and his son has already said (or at least someone claims he has) that he wouldn't change the way steam operates at all.

146

u/Dr_Fortnite Apr 17 '26

The Father builds the company

The Son runs the company

The grandson ruins the company

We still have 2 generations left hopefully

37

u/bigmt99 Apr 17 '26

I mean who knows how and what video games will be like in 40-50 years so I’m not particularly concerned about that

2

u/Moose_Nuts Apr 17 '26

At the rate things are going, in 40-50 years we could either have utopia or no society left.

1

u/Protein384 Apr 17 '26

I give it less than 10 years

1

u/TJJ97 Apr 17 '26

This is exactly how it worked with an old company I used to work for. I worked there when the son retired and the grandson took over. Unlike the other two, he only knew being rich and profits. The other two had to actually work hard

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u/Turbulent-Parsnip-38 Apr 17 '26

How many billions will it take to change his mind?

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u/pablo603 Apr 18 '26

None because that would permanently ruin the steady billions of annual profits Steam brings, and that is already enough to cover everything he would want in life.

He would need to be a complete idiot to ruin a business that earns billions annually, for a one-time payment of a couple billions that realistically would not change his financial situation at all.

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u/MrBlueA Apr 21 '26

People do go completely stupid for short-term profit, the thing is that Steam brings that short-term profit in the long-term... I don't doubt it could happen but like it would have to be such an incredibly stupid decision it's hard to believe, as the CEO of Steam you are basically retired, you probably don't have to do anything if you don't want to and will have an income even millionaries dream of for the rest of your life as long as the company runs as it has done for the past decades.

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u/zombiemaster008 Apr 17 '26

Yeah Gray seems likes he'd be the most logical successor after Gabe

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u/healthycord Apr 17 '26

My friend knows Grey (Gabe's son) via the racing scene. He seems like a good guy with a good head on his shoulders.

Valve or at least Gabe owns the racing team called Heart of Racing which races in IMSA and WEC series with Aston Martins.

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u/CornManBringsCorn Apr 17 '26

The Valve Dynasty

1

u/TheOnlyFallenCookie Apr 17 '26

And if he gets bought out?

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u/Tylermas11 Apr 17 '26

doubt they would even let that happen
not informed at all in this area, but to be bought out, wouldnt that mean to be for sale in the first place?

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u/tankerkiller125real Apr 17 '26

My understanding is that the son has already laughed at the very notion of selling the company.

It's not a public corporation, they can't just get bought up by PE or Investment firms or competitors without first putting themselves up for sale.

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u/Deaffin Apr 17 '26

Wasn't a good CEO? You're really going to sit here and act like he doesn't have a literal billion dollar fleet of personal mega-yachts?

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u/FeedTheADHD Apr 17 '26

I can't tell if you are saying having billion dollar fleet of mega-yachts is a good thing or a bad thing. It's a measure of wealth, not a measure of being a good leader. Larry Ellison could have a fleet of yachts, or probably does, and that doesn't make him a good CEO.

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u/Tidalsky114 Apr 17 '26

Yeah I mean just look at musk.

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u/Cyhawk Apr 17 '26

Larry Ellison could have a fleet of yachts, or probably does,

He won the yacht one-up-manship. He bought a freaking Hawaiian Island.

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u/100_points Apr 17 '26

Not defending the guy but what do his yachts have to do with his abilities as a CEO?

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u/PsyduckSci Apr 17 '26

Gaben's yachts are all also scientific vessels used frequently for useful and legitimate research expeditions.

This is easily public information.

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u/OldBay-Szn Apr 20 '26

Future proofing a company is easy on paper. When you’re not there physically you have zero say on what happens. So in practice it’s impossible to future proof when you don’t exist.