Switch Lights

The lights are on

What's Happening

Gabe Newell To Be Inducted In The AIAS Hall Of Fame

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced that it will be inducting Valve co-founder Gabe Newell into the organization's Hall of Fame. Newell will be presented with the award at the annual D.I.C.E. Summit in February.

“Gabe is one of the most cherished and respected figures in the industry not only for his technological innovations in advancing many of today’s highly successful video games, but also for his unique stance towards leadership and management,” said Martin Rae, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “Gabe’s vision for the interactive industry has created lasting effects that have completely reshaped this generation’s digital distribution model, paving the way for independent developers and creating an invaluable service for consumers. It is a great honor to have Gabe inducted into the Academy’s Hall of Fame.”

Newell co-founded the Valve Corporation with fellow Microsoft employee Mike Harrington in 1996. The studio developed games including the Half-Life series, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, and Portal. It was also a pioneer of digital distribution, with its Steam service.

Here's a quick recap of past Hall of Fame honorees, to give you a sense of who's been given the award in the past.

 

  • 2012 Tim Sweeney (Epic Games)
  • 2011 Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk (BioWare co-founders)
  • 2010 Mark Cerny (Marble Madness) 
  • 2009 Bruce Shelley (Ensemble Studios)
  • 2008 Michael Morhaime (Blizzard president and co-founder)
  • 2007 Dani Bunten (M.U.L.E.)
  • 2006 Richard Garriott (Ultima)
  • 2005 Trip Hawkins (Electronic Arts founder)
  • 2004 Peter Molyneux (Lionhead founder)
  • 2003 Yu Suzuki (Sega)
  • 2002 Will Wright (Maxis)
  • 2001 John Carmack (Id Software)
  • 2000 Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker)
  • 1999 Sid Meier (Firaxis founder)
  • 1998 Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo)

Email the author , or follow on , , , and .

Comments
  • Looks like he'll be joining quite the group of past award winners, congrats to Gabe!

  • One small question... Why haven't I heard of this guy. Anyone who designs amazing games like Left 4 Dead and Portal, deserves some major recognition.
  • Wow, among the elite! Congrats! That's an amazing achievement.

  • Yeah Gabe! For such a grand occasion, Valve should have a giant sale on Steam or something, or even better Left 4 Dead 3 or Half-Life 3!
  • Way to go Gabe Newell. After Half-Life 3 you could probably run for President. Congratulations to you, Cheers!
  • nice, seeing that list of people he definitely deserves to join them

  • Wow cool. Congrats to Gabe!

  • Are they trolling us? Yes, they are trolling us. Well, he really earned it. Now I just want to see Todd Howard up there.
  • The Houser Brothera deserve to be on this without a dought.
  • In my above comment I meant to say the Houser Brothers deserve to be on the list. I'm typing on a phone so I can't edit
  • The only thing that could make me happy along with this? Portal 3.

  • Man that is quite the list.  Glad to see Gabe make it on there, and he deserves it.  I bet within the next few years we'll see Ken Levine, Todd Howard, and one or both of the Hauser brothers get inducted.  

  • Wonderful news! Congratulations Gabe! You definitely deserve it.

  • Peter Molyneux doesn't deserve to be on that list. Maybe at one point he did, but he's proven at this point that his talents didn't stand the test of time.
  • I'm not going to complain about what he hasn't given the fans. None of this "I want Blah-blah 3". This man has provided the world with so many excellent, deep, and innovative games that he thoroughly deserves all the praise he gets not only as a game-maker but as a visionary as to how those games get made. Valve isn't just about cranking out games that people want, it's about bringing people together who have a vision of great games and innovation of gameplay and want to make that vision a reality. Way to go Gabe!

  • its about time! go gaben!

  • Gabe Newell should be inducted into every hall of fame ever.
  • Why is Peter Molyneux on that list?

  • The real question is why wasn't he already in the AIAS Hall of Fame when a reject lier like Peter Molyneux is?
  • nice congrats!

1 2 3 Next