Valve’s Gabe Newell calls Windows 8 a “catastrophe,” plans to port Steam library over to Linux

Posted By: Michael Lacerna In: Console News, Gaming News, PC On: 26 Jul

If there’s one thing that Gabe Newell and his team at Valve know, it’s how to make and sell PC games. Despite the company’s success on PC with games like Half-Life, Portal, and Left 4 Dead, Newell isn’t optimistic about the future of gaming on Windows based platforms.

Speaking in an interview with All Things D, Newell, a former Microsoft veteran of 13 years who worked on earlier versions of Windows, candidly talked about his doubts regarding the viability of the upcoming Windows 8. “I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.”

Newell and Valve are so turned off by Windows 8 that they’re in the process of trying to get all 2,500 games on Steam to work on Linux as part of contingency plan to keep PC games viable in case Windows 8 bombs as badly as a lot of people are predicting it will.

These statements would sound like biased hyperbole coming from anyone else, but I think Newell’s history in the industry and his company’s proven track record should show that he knows what he’s talking about. A lot of other people in the industry, both in development and in the press, have voiced their concerns about Windows 8, and Microsoft should probably start taking those criticisms into consideration if they want to avoid another Windows Vista-esque situation.

Share

Tags: Gabe Newell, half life, pc, portal, valve, Windows 8