GDC Vault is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC
This is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
How Valve Became Valve: An Insider's Account
Valve is now the most successful privately held game company in the world. How did a tiny startup, dismissed by some industry insiders early on as "a couple of Microsoft developers trying to build a game on top of id's engine" set itself apart? Monica Harrington was the founding CMO for Valve during a time when her day job included overseeing Games Marketing for Microsoft. This is her account of Valve's early days--from the initial strategy discussions she had with Valve founders Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, to the audacious goals she and Gabe set for the launch of Valve's debut game Half-Life, to the early thinking behind Valve's bold platform strategy. Expect fun anecdotes, behind-the-scenes near-death startup drama, and a bit of reflection - all from the perspective of a woman who played a key role in the industry rocket that became Valve.
Did you know free users get access to 30% of content from the last 2 years?