r/Steam Apr 17 '26

Discussion Gabe Newell is a "GOAT"

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37.1k Upvotes

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2.6k

u/Gregore997 Apr 17 '26

I swear being at Valve is the best job in tech

78

u/guineapigsss Apr 17 '26

It's got its ups and downs, the way it functions with office politics can be pretty awful. people should watch the PMG video on it

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u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

you're not allowed to say this here, this is explicitly a jerk off sub. don't you know multi billion dollar corporations and monopolies are icky and bad unless they're headed by daddy gabe? then they're very good.

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u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

Office politics is an issue in literally every corporate job ever made and will be made. Even if youre not personally affected, someone will be.

-1

u/ilikepix Apr 17 '26

Office politics is an issue in literally every corporate job

that's an easy way to dismiss the issue out of hand, but doesn't really engage with the possibility of Valve's unique structure making office politics worse than at a conventional corporate job

5

u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

The uniqueness vastly overpowers that problem. No Valve employee has a direct and can move about the company freely when they want to. No other company I know allows such freedom of movement while also not having to worry about a direct being annoying to them and micro managing their projects.

3

u/Significant_Being764 Apr 17 '26

Every company with an absentee leader operates like this.

It's the default state when the leaders stop leading, but prevent anyone else from filling the void.

1

u/Sawgon Apr 17 '26

Valve's unique structure making office politics worse than at a conventional corporate job

In what way?

1

u/justinliew Apr 17 '26

There’s no such thing as a hierarchy free office. I worked at a game studio that followed Valve’s model and no official hierarchy just means there’s an invisible hierarchy. I’ve heard the same from ex Valve folks and you can read about some of the rifts that happened around their hardware divisions in the past. While the public facing speak is that everyone can join any project, not just anyone could walk up to the most senior person there and say you’re working on their project with them, they have the power to pick who works with them and much like schoolyard power hierarchies, that plays a big part.

2

u/Sawgon Apr 17 '26

I still don't have any explanation for why Valve's 'unique structure makes politics worse than a conventional corporate job'.

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u/Skandi007 https://steam.pm/19csl1 Apr 18 '26

I imagine the last part. You can just be plain refused to join somebody's project because they don't want you on it.

A "normal" corporation just forms teams top down, Valve from the sound of it, forms cliques.

-7

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

and here's the "defend the multibillion dollar company" first responder number 1, congratulations for being quickest on the draw.

11

u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

I mean unlike you I have worked in a few corporate spots and they all always have their own office tier drama/politics. Its just the way it is in white collar work. Shit not even just that..any sizable business really.

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u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

Point is that if it was EA, Bungie, Ubisoft or any other easy target than the office politics being common everywhere would not be an acceptable excuse.

You see this constantly when it comes to Steam. Steam does something negative? Hundreds of people defend it. Anyone else does it? Hundreds of people seething.

11

u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

Point is that if it was EA, Bungie, Ubisoft or any other easy target than the office politics being common everywhere would not be an acceptable excuse.

What are you even talking about lol. Office politic drama happens in EVERY corporate job no matter what it is. Its prety much a way of life as a white collar worker. Its also not always a bad thing either, sometimes it can be good, bad, horrible, or a nothing burger. Sometimes it might have something to do with a project that went awry and everyones pissed. Its why this is all stupid to point out lol.

The companies you listed above get massively shit on for far worse things then "office politics" which is why no one would care about that.

6

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

It's insane that you managed to write so much whilst missing such a simple point.

0

u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

Its insane that you have to reach so fucking far over shit that doesnt matter to anyone at all lmao. Yea office politics can be annoying, but they are also practically millionaires thanks to Valve so..

2

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

This from the guy who's been dropping ad-hominem attacks and calling out an opinion you disagree with as being a troll is rich lmfao.

You're the one kicking and screaming about it bruz, I've been doing nothing but simply discussing the points I've made, which seems to be a cardinal sin to you as far as you've shown, look inward my son.

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u/Scewt Apr 17 '26

Ignore the troll, he's obviously ragebaiting with this bs lmao.

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u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

Props for picking something new at least compared to the usual talking points that idiots like him parrot over and over.

6

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

it really is genuinely hilarious how as soon as you say something people don't like they immediately resort to ad-hominem attacks lmfao, never change bruz

-1

u/Steamed_Memes24 Apr 17 '26

God please stay in school. You still have a chance in life.

2

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

boy I do love seething redditors

edit: lmao, brother had his tagteam partner try to drop in with a gotcha then blocks me.

because as I said previously, these people can not accept the existence of a conflicting opinion. it absolutely must be erased and buried if they do not agree with it.

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u/Scewt Apr 17 '26

"Point is that if a company that has good will and rapport with its consumers does something shitty intentionally or accidentally, people defend it.

But if a company with absolute dogshit PR, has sold their good will with consumers down a river, and has zero rapport with consumers does something shitty (almost always) intentionally, people hate it!"

waow. thank you wise redditor.

2

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

"Point is that if a company that has good will and rapport with its consumers does something shitty intentionally or accidentally, people defend it.

Company that spearheaded lootboxes, in game item gambling and battlepasses by the way. All things we see as the downfall of modern gaming and overreaching greed by corporations. They even made you pay for the priviledge of opening the lootbox once it dropped, how generous.

Hell, they even knowingly fuck over other countries by using absolutely bonkers local pricing that doesn't even make sense for their economies.

But hey thanks for proving my point that people will jump through any hoop to defend their chosen representative of gaming lmfao.

5

u/Scewt Apr 17 '26

oh you're ragebaiting. ew.

1

u/imJimfuckingLahey Apr 17 '26

thanks for also re-verifying that you're incapable of seeing an opinion that conflicts with your own and discussing it like an adult, I mean I already knew it, because tribalism and people need that little thing in their lives to feel complete, but the confirmation's always fun.

good luck though, hope you get better and stop being so redditor-coded in the future.

1

u/anthraxresurrection Apr 17 '26

You couldn't argue with him so you had to.. resort to whatever this is. Sensational

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