Valve co-founder and president Gabe Newell gave one of his most famous rare interviews with New Zealanders 1 News. In it, he discusses his admiration for the island nation, where he recently applied to stay after hiding there during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also used the interview to confirm that Valve does indeed have new games in development (although he did not want to offer more information) and addressed rumors that the company is planning to set up an office in New Zealand.
For the most part, it just seems like Newell is having a great time in a country that has not reported any COVID-19 deaths since September last year. He says he has attended motorsport races and had an interest in neuroscience, while Valve employees in the U.S. have been sitting at home for months on end. Not surprisingly, although Newell has recently denied reports that Valve is actively planning to set up an office in the country, he says there is a “huge interest” from the company’s employees to relocate.
‘There’s a lot of grassroots interest in the business to attract people,’ says Newell, adding that New Zealand’s public health infrastructure is ‘critically valuable’ to a business in the era of a pandemic.
‘It’s like there’s a new element called’ non-stupidium ‘and New Zealand is one of the world’s producers. It’s actually something built by the people of New Zealand, ‘says Newell,’ it’s absolutely, insanely valuable – like any high-tech enterprise, would say that our people are going to be much more productive in New Zealand than they are in Ireland. or Los Angeles or many other places are going to be. ”
The interview inevitably touches on future games for Valve’s Half life and Hall franchises. Although Newell declined to provide exact details (‘I haven’t talked about these things in a long time and I hope to continue not talking about them until it’s a big question.’), He did confirms that the company games in development. “It’s fun to send games,” he said.
It may not be much, but it’s reassuring that a studio with such an enviable title catalog still has plans to release more games in the future – not least because Valve has the Fire Clock developer Campo Santo in 2018, after teasing his impressive follow-up, In the Valley of the Gods. Last year, Valve made its long-awaited return to single-player games with the excellent VR-exclusive Half-life: AlyxSome employees report that the studio’s “excitement and creative juices are going on” to release more games.
You can watch the full interview at 1 News.