Valve Corporation, also known as Valve Software, is an American video game developer, publisher, and digital distribution company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It is the developer of the software distribution platform Steam and the game franchises Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Portal, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, and Dota.
Michael Abrash is an American programmer and technical writer. He is best known for his magazine articles and books on code optimization and graphics for IBM PC compatibles and for working at id Software in the mid-1990s on the rendering technology for Quake. Since 2014, he has been the chief scientist of Oculus VR, a subsidiary of Meta Platforms.
Gabe Logan Newell, also known by his nickname Gaben, is an American businessman who is the president and co-founder of the video game company Valve Corporation.
Level-5 Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka. The company was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from Riverhillsoft. Early in its history, the company enjoyed a close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with many of its games then funded by and produced in conjunction with them. Level-5 began self-publishing its games in Japan by the late 2000s, with other companies such as Nintendo handling publishing worldwide. The company is best known for their Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Yo-kai Watch, and Snack World franchises.
Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) is an anti-cheat tool developed by Valve as a component of the Steam platform, first released with Counter-Strike in 2002.
Turtle Rock Studios is an American video game developer founded in March 2002 by Mike Booth. It was acquired by Valve in 2008, but was re-founded in 2010 as a subsidiary of Slamfire Inc. by Phil Robb and Chris Ashton. Turtle Rock Studios is involved in the creation of original titles as well as the provision of consulting services to the digital entertainment industry.
John Thomas O'Sullivan is an American former professional football quarterback who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), two seasons in NFL Europe and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the UC Davis Aggies, starting for three years and throwing for career totals of 10,745 yards and 96 touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-American in 2000 and a second-team All-American in 2001. He was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Half-Life 2: Episode Three is a canceled first-person shooter game developed by Valve. It was planned as the last in a trilogy of episodic games continuing the story of Half-Life 2 (2004). Valve announced Episode Three in May 2006, with a release planned for 2007. Following the cliffhanger ending of Episode Two (2007), it was widely anticipated. Marc Laidlaw, the writer for the Half-Life series, said he intended Episode Three to end the Half-Life 2 story arc.
Star Warped is a first-person point-and-click adventure video game that parodies the Star Wars universe, specifically the original trilogy released between 1977 and 1983: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It was created by Parroty Interactive, which was a division of the game's publisher, Palladium Interactive. Star Warped was released in the United States and Canada, for both Windows PC and Macintosh, in late 1997 as a follow-up to their debut Myst parody, Pyst. The game is no longer in release, as Parroty's parent company folded after being bought by The Learning Company in 1998. The game invited players to "Be seduced by the power of the Dork Side". Star Warped received mixed reviews from critics: some praised the game's variety, originality, and humor, while others dismissed it as lazy, unfunny, and dull.
The Orange Box is a video game compilation containing five games developed and published by Valve. Two of the games included, Half-Life 2 and its first stand-alone expansion, Episode One; had previously been released as separate products. Three new games were also included in the compilation: the second stand-alone expansion, Half-Life 2: Episode Two; the puzzle game Portal; and Team Fortress 2, the multiplayer game sequel to Team Fortress Classic. Valve also released a soundtrack containing music from the games within the compilation. A separate product entitled The Black Box was planned, which would have included only the new games, but was later canceled.
Egypt 1156 B.C. – Tomb of the Pharaoh is a 1997 adventure video game co-published by Cryo Interactive Entertainment, Canal+ Multimedia and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux for the Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It was later released in North America by DreamCatcher Interactive.
The Secret of the Nautilus is a 2002 adventure video game, inspired by Jules Verne's science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It was developed by Cryo Interactive and released for Microsoft Windows based PCs.
Microshaft Winblows 98 is a 1998 interactive comedy video game for Windows and the Classic Mac OS. It parodies the then-upcoming Windows 98 operating system, as well as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Released by Palladium Interactive during the United States v. Microsoft Corp. case and at a time when Microsoft, Windows, and Gates were easy targets for jokes, the game offers a satirical take on this ripe subject matter.
Steam Machine is a discontinued series of small form factor gaming computers by Valve, designed to operate SteamOS to provide a game console-like experience. Several computer vendors were engaged with Valve to develop their own versions of Steam Machines for retail, offering additional options atop Valve's requirements such as dual-booting options with Microsoft Windows and the ability to upgrade the computer. Consumers could digitally purchase video games on their Steam Machine through Valve's namesake Steam storefront.
Source 2 is a video game engine developed by Valve. The engine was announced in 2015 as the successor to the original Source engine, with the first game to use it, Dota 2, being ported from Source that same year. Other Valve games, such as Artifact, Dota Underlords, Half-Life: Alyx, and Counter-Strike 2, have been produced with the engine.
The Arthur video games franchise was a series of learning and interactive story video games based on the American-Canadian children's TV show Arthur. The games were released in the 1990s and 2000s for PlayStation and Windows and Mac OS computers.
Joel Heath is a former American football defensive end. He was a three-year starter at Mount Healthy High School in Mount Healthy, Ohio and earned First-team All-State honors twice. He was also named the Associated Press All-Ohio Division II Co-Defensive Player of the Year his senior season in 2010. Heath played college football at Michigan State, where he was a three-year letterman. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Conference his senior year in 2015. He played in 39 games during his college career, recording 60 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Heath played for the Houston Texans from 2016 to 2019, and was a member of the Denver Broncos in 2020 and the Detroit Lions in 2021.
Star Wars: Pit Droids is an educational puzzle game developed and published by Lucas Learning. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 13, 1999. It was later ported to iOS and released on February 9, 2012. The game develops skills such as hypothesis testing and geometry.
The X-Fools: The Spoof Is Out There is an interactive comedic 1997 video game developed by Parroty Interactive. It is a parody of supernatural television series The X-Files, which ran from 1993 to 2018. Released on the Mac and PC, it was the company's third game after Myst parody Pyst, and Star Warped which lampooned Star Wars, and would be followed by Microshaft Winblows 98, a parody of Microsoft Windows 98. The game was distributed throughout North America by Mindscape.
Michael Booth is an American video game designer and executive and the current chief creative officer of Bad Robot Games. He was also creator and lead designer of Left 4 Dead and founder of Turtle Rock Studios, later acquired by Valve Corporation.
