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Latest News

Report: Valve hit with layoffs; 'large decisions' ahead

by John Keefer, Feb 13, 2013 11:30am PST

Related Topics – Valve, Layoffs

Updates with Develop report of Valve's director of business leaving the company.

Reports are beginning to surface that employee-friendly Valve Software is in the process of making "large decision" about the company's future, resulting in the layoff of as many as 25 employees from multiple departments.

Gamasutra has confirmed that multiple people had been let go from the hardware and Android departments. The site said that the number 25 has been bandied about, but that is unconfirmed, and that those affected had used phrase like "great cleaning" and "large decisions" related to the terminations. In addition, engineer Jeri Ellsworth tweeted yesterday that she had been "fired," and senior mechanical engineer Ed Owen's LinkedIn profile (via PC Gamer) reflected an end to his employment this month.

Develop is also reporting that Jason Holtman, Valve's director of business and a primary go-between with developers using Steam, has left the company as well.

We have reached out to Valve for a statement and will update as more information becomes available.

Read all the News

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John Keefer posted a new article, Report: Valve hit with layoffs; 'large decisions' ahead.

Reports are beginning to surface that employee-friendly Valve Software is in the process of making "large decision" about the company's future, resulting in the layoff of as many as 25 employees from multiple departments.

Feb 13, 2013 11:30am PST

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John Keefer posted a new article, Report: Valve hit with layoffs; 'large decisions' ahead.

Reports are beginning to surface that employee-friendly Valve Software is in the process of making "large decision" about the company's future, resulting in the layoff of as many as 25 employees from multiple departments. : Shacknews
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  Maybe they backed off from the steam box idea? : crummynz
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    Maybe hl3 went gold. : not work safe
    - :{ : funnynamehere
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    yeah it all seems to be hardware and mobile games people so far. if they are deciding that the steam box ... : eskimo spy
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      Sony contacts Valve, Steam to be PS4 exclusive. You heard it hear first! : funnynamehere
      
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      That could be possible, but it seems like it would be very unlikely. : mancide
      
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      So it's unlikely possible? Or possibly unlikely? : freakynipples69
      
      did you weigh all your decisions in Fallout3 like that? : Zolneirz
    - Maybe Gabe's meetings at CES didn't go as well as planned. : Crimsonbeak
    - I agree completely. I wasn't really feeling it, but I didn't know enough about it. Seemed messy though. : red2lucas
  - Probably couldn't rally enough Linux support from developers? : freakynipples69
  - Yeah, hopefully they came to do their senses, jesus. : skinlab133
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  It's the entire Episode 3 team. lol no it'll be for the 25 currently employed TF2 hat designers : Lucien Irenicus
  - They probably easily earn their salaries thrice over. : Beady
- wtf. i know they put a media blackout ever since team fortress 2 back in 1999, but it would be nice to h... : deathofrats
- They should sell some kind of game : Barleywine
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  Bad news, very bad news for the steambox project and linux support there. I'd guess this is the beginning... : Visceral Monkey
  - Steambox is probably just a variation of Nvidia Shield technology now. Getting developers to create strai... : freakynipples69
  - My totally random guess: They point of the steambox was leverage and they've probably gotten the reassura... : Visceral Monkey
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  This might explain why the Steambox made a kind of cameo appearance ahead of the E3. It's just not going... : daggot
  - That sucks, it really does. : Visceral Monkey
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  Steam must be in dire straights, all our games are soon to be lost! : FreshwaterAU
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    Don't even joke dude. : jdcope
    - a good point, I'd freak out. Not even in jest. I apologize to the community. : FreshwaterAU
  - But remember all the 360 discs that got smashed? Who's going to laugh then? : kagath
  - THE END IS NIGH! REPENT SINNERS REPENT!! : master_disaster_17
  - Abandon ship! Set sails for the dreaded sails of Origin : Malku
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    NP we'll move to UPLAY! : [7]kami
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      Origin will always stay true to what gamers want. : shirif
      
      So you are the EA version of a Steam Fan Boi? : dookiebot
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  My guess is Sony will be using Steam for it's digital distribution channel on the PS4. That's the only t... : greenbergMD
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    i would really like that. the new version of PSN is clunky, and they never did anything with PS3 Steam ot... : RikiTiki2
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      The new PSN is wayyyy better than the previous one. They just took way to damn long to actually implement... : cryptical
      
      Disagree. It's very slow and clunky. : FuryVII
- at valve everyone can fire each other 'cause there are no bosses : jim bone
- They fired the head of their hardware department and their controller person, along with other "android" ... : Visceral Monkey
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  25 out of how many people work at valve? : feek
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    Somewhere in the 300 range. : chepito_
    - Closer to 400, now. Search in page: http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/economics/why-valve-or-what-do-we-n... : DrWaffles
- I say good, get back to the core business. : watcherxp
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  There are a lot of possibilities here. Maybe Valve partnered with a hardware provider and doesn't need in... : brickmatt
  - Personally I think nVidia's Shield project is doing the same thing that Valve was. : Crimsonbeak
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    "Maybe Valve partnered with a hardware provider and doesn't need in-house staff for that concern anymore? : Visceral Monkey
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  If this means the cancellation of steambox I am perfectly fine with it. I honestly didn't think it would ... : ant_hillbilly
  - If it means just giving up and letting consoles rule the living room, I weep. Such a lost opportunity, an... : Visceral Monkey
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  I submitted my resume to a couple of those hardware designer jobs back when they first popped up, but I'v : MercFox1
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    And so, so awesome. : Visceral Monkey
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      Valve thinks WAY farther ahead than most companies. Part sounds like strategic restructuring, part sounds... : MercFox1
      
      art design for TF2 died years ago anyways : RikiTiki2
      
      That would be amazing. Big Picture Mode with gamepad support running directly on my TV with dedicated... : Ebu
  - I was really excited for Steam on the PS3 when Portal 2 came out, and then the big PSN hack shut down the... : BlackCat9
  - I want your REALLY INSANE prediction to come true. : scatterblack
  - really insane guess please be right. : ant_hillbilly
  - Layoffs right before the ps4 announcement. Interesting.... : AMikaboshi
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    what do we even know about the PS4 system architecture at this point? How hard is it going to be for deve... : DeBurgo
    - Tis Linux like if I remember correctly. The hardware can certainly run Linux. : Visceral Monkey
  - If that were true I'd be all over a PS4 on release. : obiquatro
  - I have a hard time believing Sony would just cede their online services to a 3rd party : derelict515
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    I thought the purpose of the steambox was to stream video from your PC to your living room so you don't h... : snuff
    - That's only part of the goal and I don't think it's the main goal. : Herman Toothrot
  - PS4 with Steam would be so awesome. : nomaad
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  Unless Sony is only producing the hardware for the PS4, and Valve gets to control ALL of the software, I ... : Teirdome
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    Why would they be cutting artists and animations when they are making enormous profits and producing game... : Wisp!
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      That part is weird and speaks more to cost cutting for money issues. : Visceral Monkey
      
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      From everything i've heard, as much as the place is a paradise to work in, it doesn't mean you can float ... : disembodied potato
      
      This sounds the most likely. Valve may have over hired for their future projects, and now they're correct... : EnhancedInterrogator
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      One odd ball guess is that they're reducing their overhead on their budget so that they can finance hardw... : Teirdome
      
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      My guess is its just a clear out of redundant people. The company doubles in size nearly every year. Alo... : disembodied potato
      
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      Agreed. It's pretty likely that gamers and the media are reading too much into it. Some people were und... : Teirdome
      
      Its hilarious that anyone thinks valve could be experiencing financial problems. : disembodied potato
- Haha, some elsewhere has refereed to this as "The night of the long crowbars." in reference to this: h... : Visceral Monkey
- Interesting I always expected valve to come out with some crazy new controller replicating m+kb for conso... : csana
- People are blowing this way out of proportion. Gabe was all over town the last two weeks talking up t... : disembodied potato
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  It's been 8.5 years since I've been this angry at Valve's lack of transparency. I've already gone throug... : the archvile
  - the archville, I never figured you for a prepper. : Firefly1985
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    Do you want Valve to email you before they fire people? : disembodied potato
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      Also please explain to me how valve could be acquired by a hostile entity when they are a 100% independen... : disembodied potato
      
      It's going to be like the plot from the forthcoming movie Pain & Gain, but involving GabeN and some devel... : pigvomit
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      Not small scale, but "Valve lays off 25" is a much scarier story than "38 Studios lays off everyone". ... : the archvile
      
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      23:00 UTC already happened : RikiTiki2
      
      Sorry, rushed on that conversion; I meant 01:00 UTC February 14 2013. : the archvile
      
      I'm with you. Big Physical Media is out to shut Valve down and this is how it starts. : trOmblyj
      
      Dude thats fucking crazy. You've gone off the deep end. Valve is just clearing house and getting rid of ... : disembodied potato
      
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      privately held - meaning that they're not beholden to you or any other type of share or stake holder. ... : EvilDolemite
      
      Archvile: Crazy is as crazy does. : disembodied potato
      
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      They apparently can't stop freshly terminated employees from changing their status on LinkedIn and postin... : the archvile
      
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      I'm pretty sure they knew thats exactly what employes would be doing, its what all newly unemployed peopl... : disembodied potato
      
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      25 employees out of 400-500, too : EvilDolemite
      
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      ...out of a company that has never had a headline regarding a layoff wave exceeding 10. : the archvile
      
      ....... : disembodied potato
      
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      They should have confiscated their employees phones and hands before letting them out the door. : trOmblyj
      
      I think they should have just flown the archvile in for a private meeting before telling anyone they were... : disembodied potato
      
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      how many employees are they allowed to shed without an official press release? 3? 7? : derelict515
      
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      Less than the minimum amount required to result in an event like this. Non-Disparagement Agreements may ... : the archvile
      
      An event like what? Nothing has happened. There is no story, people have been fired. We can only specula... : disembodied potato
      
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      so what I hear is "I reserve the right to make a story out of whatever number I see fit." : derelict515
      
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      If I gave an absolute number, you'd dispute that too, so I gave the conditions that would result in trigg... : the archvile
      
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      I mean, let's say they want to fire 50 people. Now to keep it under your radar they have to do what, 3 pe... : derelict515
      
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      Or force them to sign non-disparagement agreements, as GameSpot did to Jeff Gerstmann in November 2007 (a... : the archvile
      
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      it sounds like they're actually being as transparent as you want. they fired people and allowed them to ... : EvilDolemite
      
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      If it's not a big deal, why didn't they have a press release ready for when stuff got public? Non-disp... : the archvile
      
      Because they don't give a fuck about paranoid wackos who will read Armageddon into this move. : Herman Toothrot
      
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      I'm pretty sure you can't make someone sign something that say's they're not allowed to say they're unemp... : Herman Toothrot
      
      This discussion has gone from crazy to hilarious to bizarre. : disembodied potato
      
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      Why? Why would they do that? Please give examples of any other multimillion dollar private company who ma... : disembodied potato
      
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      All right, all right... it's usually within 24 hours after. Uuuuuugh, I need something to get my heart r... : the archvile
      
      Dude go and have a cup of tea or something :( : disembodied potato
      
      because firing a few people is not news, it's what businesses do periodically. You want them to be more t... : derelict515
      
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      Do you not recall the MASSIVE fall out and stink around the Gamespot situation entirely because nobody wo... : disembodied potato
      
      Also forcing people to sign a non-disparagement agreement when there is nothing to disparage about would ... : disembodied potato
      
      Yeah, because that worked out so damn well for Gamespot... : Herman Toothrot
      
      does that apply to google? apple? microsoft? dropbox? pandora? quite a lot of stuff requires constant int... : Downforce
      
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      So, you think that making it look like they can't hold onto employees over months is better than letting ... : BlackCat9
      
      It would also fucking suck for the employees who don't get fired to watch small batches of people get let... : Herman Toothrot
      
      So, you think that making it look like they can't hold onto employees over months is better than letting ... : BlackCat9
      
      http://i4.minus.com/iblrrAAp6gNlms.png : Godhatesfatpeople
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    archvile, I need a rundown of your Steam Armageddon Drill plans, for I too worry about this. Help me out : jimmy_legs
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      1. Make sure Steam is not running. Start a command prompt. Change directory to Steam directory. 2. R... : the archvile
      
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      what if you don't know it by heart? do you have a methodology for quickly determining this? : RikiTiki2
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_using_Steam_authentication : the archvile
      
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      Why do you use a service you have so little faith in? : disembodied potato
      
      Because I wouldn't have been able to play Half-Life 2. After that announcement, I vowed that Steam would... : the archvile
      
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      Lots of titles require the use of Steam, you really don't have a choice if you want to play one of those ... : Modulus
      
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      Sure and i'm not saying otherwise. But if i was as unsure about my investment as the Archvile seems to be... : disembodied potato
      
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      Every time I buy something on Steam, it's as though I'm setting $120 on fire. It's not like PC gamers ha... : the archvile
      
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      Well its a good thing you are mindful about how you spend your money, i just think you'd do well not to g... : disembodied potato
      
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      I'm a little too mindful; I fear debt more than I fear death. : the archvile
      
      http://www.shacknews.com/chatty/?id=28546761#item_28546761 : Dave-A
      
      I N F ' D : thecatinthehat
      
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      https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6484046/archvile.jpg : vile
      
      LOL : crummynz
      
      lmao : Godhatesfatpeople
      
      lol archville wtf man! : [fry]
      
      hahahahaha : Nitrium
      
      So much better that you were the one to post this. : iamgoat
      
      hahahahahaha : Downforce
      
      Rules. : sgtsanity
      
      I was going to take a picture with my shortwave radio and Technics 1200, but I think I'll just try to coo... : the archvile
      
      lololol : Maddog_Delphi97
      
      toggle
      Wait, where is that pic from? If that's actually "the archvile" then holy fuck this is like Micromancer'... : Vorlonesque
      
      it's not him, he's a normal looking dude : derelict515
      
      L A F F ' D : Jiven
      
      Jimmers. : shirif
      
      QUICKLY EVERYONE! INTO THE BUNKER! : Visceral Monkey
      
      Oh my god. Maybe you should just skip right to the last sentence. : BlackCat9
      
      your priorities are all fucked up : dirge23
      
      Have you ever thought of what you might accomplish if you put as much effort into creating something as y... : boarder2
      
      Certifiably insane : maulla
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    I just tried to launch steam and it didn't open. Feels like the beginning of the end. : trOmblyj
    - OH GOD : FreshwaterAU
  - because they laid some employees off? : EvilDolemite
  - I'm sure a "hostile entity" (alien lifeform?) is going to take over Valve and then dismantle their most p... : Wisp!
  - The day Valve shuts down is probably the day I quit PC gaming. : pigvomit
  - i'm working on a fallout shelter : cygnus
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    Why are you of all people buying games off any download service with DRM. You have no one to be angry at... : DrWaffles
    - I hope he's a big supporter of GOG.com. Their whole thing is about not having DRM. : Mecha Tofu Pirate
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    it is a good point though, I dont think valve is going under, but what if they do? will the "backups" wor... : chilln
  - Valve is like North Korea and Gabe is our dear leader. : jahulio2
  - Guys - Valve is too big to fail! Will the US Government bail them out? If not - THANKS OBAMA. : trOmblyj
  - I don't want to live in a non-Steam world. No plans for Armageddon, I'll just quit gaming. : grandmasterlee
  - Producers of tin foil must love you. : Zips
  - 8.5 YEARS : Crabs Jarrard
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    I thought Steam was printing money? : ninjase
    - (thats the impression i have, at least. i really have no idea! my question mark is not rhetorical) : ninjase
    - it is : derelict515
  - I guess single-handedly saving the master race isn't enough for some people? : Starchy
- My insane speculation: the Apple iWatch will be the SteamBox : Dave-A
- Not all hardware people are gone apparently http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=47686476&postco... : Visceral Monkey
- Oh noes!? No modular controller with hot swappable trackball/analog stick???! Damn, it was almost a re... : dedgecko
- cutting staff to look more profitable to attract investment : filthysock
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  Gabe has commented on this. No projects are changing, etc. Everything is so a go. : Visceral Monkey
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    http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/14/layoffs-hit-valve : Visceral Monkey
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      hrmm, maybe just performance related? : filthysock
      
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      maybe a business being a business, reorg/realign/restructure as priorities change every few years : derelict515
      
      Very likely. It's also annual review time for a lot of companies. And unlike a lot of other creative ... : cetra00
      
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      I think people forget in that talk Gabe gave last week or whenever, he specifically said the one thing th... : zakk
      
      That wouldn't surprise me. It seems like the type of environment that could cause otherwise talented peop... : OutlawSundown
      
      Looks like they are just cleaning out redundancies before moving forward. : Visceral Monkey
      
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      Sounds like spineless management to me. : baron calamity
      
      there's no management at valve. : filthysock
      
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      Spineless would be the opposite, ie tolerating those who are at odds and ultimately harmful to the group ... : geedeck
      
      lol. it sounds like some kind of anarchist place to work that would be fun in your 20s but horrible as a ... : thebigbeefsandwich
      
      what? : derelict515
      
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      lol, you sound like some kind of middle manager who thinks his / his company's way is the only way and af... : jimmy_legs
      
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      Not really. If these people were drifting without guidance, someone above them should have gently pushed ... : baron calamity
      
      So you know exactly how it went down at Valve. How's Source 2 looking? : Godhatesfatpeople
      
      Did you not read their employee handbook? It's very explicit that you are expected to make your own work.... : zakk
      
      I think you're not understanding the part where there isn't anyone above them and there isn't any kind of... : Herman Toothrot
      
      Companies like Valve explicitly hire people that don't/shouldn't need that level of micromanagement and c... : derelict515
      
      "someone above them" -- what? : sasoi
      
      haha how? : Godhatesfatpeople
      
      Excellent workers do not need micro management as you suggest. The best workers have initiative and motiv... : creeping-death
      
      No. If you work at Valve, you know what you are getting into (no management). http://www.valvesoftware... : [7]kami
      
      Yeah that's pretty much my dream company, to finish one project and immediately hop over on something els... : Magus
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      nnnnnnnnrrrrrrrggghh.... http://chattypics.com/files/eton_e1_xe9px2obei.jpg : the archvile
      
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      *breathe* *breathe* ... http://chattypics.com/files/20130213_serenitynow_msv8yd5fdr.jpg I still can't ... : the archvile
      
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      good god dude, do you start looking for a new job for fear that your company is going under the moment an... : derelict515
      
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      http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=29056685#item_29056685 : the archvile
      
      right but dude, you're projecting, hypothesizing, etc quite a bit. relax, jack it or something, play a ga... : jimmy_legs
      
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      Because it's easier to clear people out in batches. If you trickle people out one by one constantly that ... : zakk
      
      gaben made a list of people working on hl3, and fired them. can't risk the game coming out. : harold.johnson
  - Awesome so Left 4 Dead 3 is up next Then Portal 3 : stgdz
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    Kinda goes against what they talk about in Valve Handbook, especially the part about not being hired to d... : Flynn
    - How do you figure? Just because they don't expect people to exist for a single project doesn't mean they... : Herman Toothrot
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  Well that's kind of faith shocking, I kind of assumed they were invincible :/ : abrasion
  - what does this even mean? that they'd only hire people who were somehow perfect and would never be less e... : derelict515
  - Why would any of this change your mind? : Herman Toothrot
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  Sucks to be those 25 people but Gaben said in his lectures that they're aggressive about firing people an... : jingletard
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    Yeah, still, that's a big house cleaning. Guess it makes since they are about to embark on a all or nothi... : Visceral Monkey
    - He even said they're growing about 50% per year so 25 people isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things... : jingletard
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  Hey I just wanna check if anyone else remembers this: This isn't the only time Valve has had a shakeup of... : DeBurgo
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    That would have been like 10 people back then. : Wisp!
    - well, yeah. : DeBurgo
  - So you're saying Half-Life 3 is releasing soon : TheIneffableBob
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  Maybe just trimming off the fat? In a company like Valve, people who don't deliver value for the compa... : Nullzero
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    as a rule valve are not really fat trimmers, they like giving exceptional people time to be creative. th... : kiddygrinder
    - Yeah, that could be true. But considering how many employees Valve has, and how few first-party produc... : Nullzero
    - "the people build hl3 could be easily said to just be taking up time and money considering the dev time" ... : FuryVII
- In a studio as big as Valve, it's possible that 25 people were let go as housecleaning. : eyetyrant248