Gabe “Gaben” Newell (62) is co-founder of the gaming giant Valve, the company behind Steam. He is also considered a cool guy who occasionally responds personally to messages.
What was the request? As Reddit user NewVillage6264 reported in a post dated December 30, 2024, he emailed Gabe Newell 13 years ago on the occasion of his 13th birthday to ask for an autograph.
In fact, he received a response from the Steam boss at that time – and even much more than just an autograph.
Why ask for an autograph when you can have dozens?
What did he get? According to NewVillage6264, he first received an email that Gabe Newell had written to the head of the merchandise department, in which he CC’d him. In it, he requested to “take care of the boy.”
Eventually, he received a copy of “The Sacrifice,” a collection of graphic novels from the universes of the Valve games Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Portal. Not only did Gabe sign it, but also dozens of other employees.
On top of that, there was a signed mousepad.
You can see the post here – do you recognize any of the titles?
For NewVillage6264, it was probably the best birthday gift he has ever received. With nearly 17,000 upvotes on Reddit, many users seem to think similarly.
In the comments, many express their admiration for the special gift, paired with more or less subtle hints that they might be just a tiny bit envious. For them, this action once again shows what a cool guy is behind the software company.
Some users also praise the recipient, who has cherished the gift to this day instead of selling it immediately – as rare collector’s items can indeed be quite valuable, as this lucky one shows: Pokémon TCG: Collector gets booster worth up to 15,000 Euros – But there’s a catch
