Valve Corporation, founded in 1996 by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, is a highly influential American video game developer, publisher, and digital distribution company. Their breakthrough debut was the critically acclaimed first-person shooter Half-Life (1998), which profoundly impacted the FPS genre.
In 2003, Valve revolutionized PC gaming with the launch of Steam, its highly successful digital distribution platform, which now generates most of the company's significant revenue. Beyond Half-Life, Valve is celebrated for iconic franchises including Counter-Strike, Portal, Team Fortress, and Dota.
More recently, the company has expanded into hardware and virtual reality (VR) development, releasing VR headsets like the HTC Vive and Valve Index, the flagship VR game Half-Life: Alyx (2020), and the portable gaming system Steam Deck (2022). Known for its unique flat organizational structure, Valve was reportedly worth over US$3 billion by 2012, solidifying its status as a major innovator in the gaming industry.