2026-10-24
Gabe Newell: 'Piracy Is a Service Problem'—How a Microsoft Veteran Endured Ten Years of Hate for a Forced Updater and Won PC Gaming with Convenience
Ranked #38 in '100 Product Managers Who Changed the World': Gabe Newell (OVR 89.20: Vision 93, Business 92, Organization 90, Insight 88, Scale 86, Taste 84). After thirteen years at Microsoft he co-founded Valve in 1996, proved himself with Half-Life, then turned a much-resented 2003 updater called Steam into the always-open digital store that replaced the PC game box.
