Valve's Gabe Newell responds to Microsoft acquisition rumors

Wild rumors have been floating around that Microsoft was looking into purchasing companies such as EA or Valve. They’re almost certainly false, with no concrete plans to actually acquire either company, but that hasn’t stopped some people from speculating and worrying. One fan happened to email Gabe Newell himself, co-founder of Valve, and received a response.

Over on the ResetEra forums, a screenshot was posted of Newell apparently replying to an email with the question, “Is Valve being bought by Microsoft? Please respond The community is shaken.” His response, as could be expected, was “Not that I’m aware of.”

While it seems a bit odd for Newell to respond to an unknown fan’s inquiry instead of making an official statement, the email attached to the screenshot checks out as Newell’s email from Valve’s website, which he has used to respond to fans in the past.

The rumors were far-fetched to begin with so hopefully this puts them to bed. The hypothetical cost of purchasing Valve, and Steam by extension, is unknown since Valve is a privately traded company. For comparison, an EA acquisition has the potential to set Microsoft back by nearly $35 billion.