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In a recent conversation with a friend, I realized that not many people know you can contact the all-mighty Gaben if something is bothering you with Valve games or services. He might actually reply!

Gaben Answers Emails

Gabe Logan Newell, or Gaben, is a popular figure in the gaming and esports world. He is the co-founder and owner of Valve Corporation. You know, Steam, Dota 2, CS2, Deadlock? According to the internet, his net worth is around $10 billion. Let’s take that with a grain of salt because that kind of information is usually inaccurate. It doesn’t really matter though—what’s important is that despite his influence and power, he still reads his emails and even answers some of them.

A month ago, Reddit user ivyx123 posted his interaction with Gabe in the r/DeadlockTheGame subreddit. He simply sent an email to Gaben, writing:

“Hi Gabe,

I hope this email finds you well.

I’m writing to you as a huge fan of Valve and your incredible games. I’ve been playing Valve titles ever since I was a kid, and I’ve always admired the innovation and quality that your team brings to every project.

I recently learned about Deadlock, and, as a long-time fan, I’m genuinely excited about it. I’d be thrilled to have the opportunity to experience it firsthand. My Steam ID is (), and I wanted to reach out to see if there might be a way to get access to the game.

In addition, I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with my 2-year-old son. I want him to grow up witnessing the amazing games created by Valve, just as I have.

Thank you for considering my request. I truly appreciate the hard work and creativity that go into Valve’s games.

Best regards, Arief”

To his surprise, Gabe responded the same day with a short message: “Here you go, Arief” and sent him a key for Deadlock.

It’s Not a New Thing

Stories like this resurface from time to time, and it seems many players still don’t know they can email Gabe directly. In more than one instance, he has invited players to send him emails. The first time I recall was as part of the TI8 announcer pack he did, where he encouraged players to send him their rampages in Dota 2. That was back in 2018.

More recently, in 2022, while delivering the first Steam Decks and doing content for Valve, Gabe did the same. In the video now seen more than 2 million times, he asked for feedback to be sent to him even explaining that he reads his own emails and responds when he can. Of course, he can’t answer every email. Topics on r/Steam going back five years say it’s common knowledge how to email Gabe.

So, if you have any problems, questions, criticism, or praise, whatever it may be, be nice and polite, and feel free to email Gabe Newell at: gaben(@)valvesoftware.com. And if he replies, be sure to let us know!