His departure from Valve comes amid a number of high profile exits. Gabe Newell has said they’re ”not going to discuss why” anyone does or doesn’t work at Valve.
The likely scenario? Newell, disappointed with Windows evermore closed nature, is sending his top Steam agent to work undercover and make it safe for PC devs again.
”Yes, I have joined Microsoft where I will be focusing on making Windows a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment,” announced Jason Holtman. ”I think there is a lot of opportunity for Microsoft to deliver the games and entertainment customers want and to work with developers to make that happen, so I’m excited to be here.”
Holtman was a major focal point for developers to discuss their games for distribution on Steam, and has been a loud proponent of the digital marketplace. Scoring Holtman for the Windows platform is a big sign that Microsoft wants to start seriously pursuing their previous promises to Windows PC gamers.
”We’re not going to discuss why anyone in particular is or isn’t working here,” Gabe Newell told Engadget. The Valve founder was keen to note that ”we aren’t canceling any projects.” Straight from the horse’s mouth: Half-Life 3 confirmed!! Oh wait, this wasn’t a talk about Half-Life; silly me. False alarm everyone.
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