In a video filled with insider jokes, we see Gabe Newell, the boss of Valve (Steam), at his daily work. Everyone around him fears him and his moods. He decides everything, and when in doubt, he calls someone. And that’s just so a character from Portal contributes more to DOTA 2 .
What is the video about? Valve is planning a crossover of two of their most famous games.
In Valve’s MOBA DOTA 2, there are “Announcer Packs”: these are cosmetic items that change the announcer’s voice in the game. There are now 30 different Announcer Packs (via dota2.fandom).
In Valve’s cult-favorite game series “Portal”, there exists the character Cave Johnson, the founder and CEO of Aperture Science:
Cave Johnson was voiced in the original English by J.K. Simmons, a great actor many know as “J. Jonah Jameson” from the Spiderman movies, from the old ones with Tobey Maguire and from the new ones with Tom Holland.
He is the “Bring me pictures, pictures of Spiderman” guy:
In the trailer, Gabe Newell now orders two employees to record a “Follow-Up” to his Announcer Pack: an apparently completely hollow idea, as everyone immediately understands, except for Gabe Newell.
Trailer for DOTA 2 turns Newell’s image into a crazy tyrant
Why is the trailer so funny? The trailer plays with the image of Gabe Newell, who is considered friendly and close to the player: he is actually something like the archetypal PC gamer. Still responds, even as a billionaire, to customer inquiries.
Here, he is shown as a tyrannical, detached figure who does something, as silly as it may be, and everyone else has to conform to the “Big Boss”.
He gives himself pretentious and strange nicknames like “G Money”.
This is the story: The DOTA caster Jacke “SirActionSLacks” Kanner and DOTA host Kaci “Kaci” Aitchison were summoned by Newell to a dark room. The two expect to be fired – but then they are tasked with recording an Announcer Pack that will follow the “greatest success of Gabe Newell”, his Announcer Pack.
The two speakers and a “Gary”, something like a chief flunky, know that the idea won’t work. But it’s Gabe Newell’s idea, so it will be done. Even if it takes years and people die in the process, that’s just how it is.
Ultimately, everything is done as Newell wants it, and if a Gary dies, there will just be a new one.
The video shows Newell in 2 situations:
- 2018, in the recording studio, where he sits in the background like a mafia boss, says nothing, and plays with his Steam Deck and his phone – his will is read from tiny gestures here
- 2022 (a week later – in Valve time): on a yacht in casual clothes, where he has already forgotten the entire idea and then calls Cave Johnson over a potato phone to ask for a “favor” – the legendary character from Portal is now to record an Announcer Pack
What’s the deal with the Pack? The Pack is supposed to be available to all owners of a DOTA 2 Battle Pass.
How is it received? People find it simply hilarious. The trailer has nearly 290,000 views and many positive comments.
People are also just happy that Valve is now “doing things” again, after all the years of silence around the legendary game developer, who has now made a fortune with the PC platform Steam.
DOTA 2 is particularly dear to Gabe Newell, as we know:
