It's striking to consider just how small Valve is compared to other major players in the game industry. In 2021, Microsoft estimated Valve's annual revenue at $6.5 billion, roughly on the same scale as EA's $7.5 billion in 2024 revenue. But Steam achieved those numbers with around 350 employees, compared to well over 13,000 people employed by EA. The disparity highlights just how much money Valve brings in with a relatively small workforce. And a lot of that is thanks to the chunk of revenue Valve takes from every sale on Steam.
It's all thanks to GabeN. Almost every Valve employee that started in the company has been replaced. It's been GabeN at the top steering things, and when he goes, Valve goes with him. There won't be a suitable replacement for him.
The disparity highlights just how much money Valve brings in with a relatively small workforce. And a lot of that is thanks to the chunk of revenue Valve takes from every sale on Steam.
Exactly. Microsoft and EA are actually making games. Valve is running an internet store front.
Sure Valve does put out titles occasionally and updates more frequently, but it's mostly Steam and loot box sales.
Well, it also helps if you don't get administratively top-heavy like a lot of orgs end up. That alone is millions of dollars in wasted salary's and wasted engineer time. Let people that are good at what they do focus on their jobs. Minimize the amount of admin overhead as well.
How many people waste a ton of time because there are 5 different managers/directors/vp's/etc to report to? Most of them are unneeded entirely.
(post is archived)