Today marks the 30th anniversary of Valve’s founding

Exactly 30 years ago, on August 24, 1996, former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington founded Valve, an American video game development company.

Valve’s first game was Half-Life, which was released on November 19, 1998. The company then released Counter-Strike on November 9, 2000, and in 2003 launched Steam, a digital game distribution service. Dota 2 was released on Steam on July 9, 2013.

In 2011, the company hosted the first The International—the premier Dota 2 tournament, which has since become an annual world championship. Yesterday, August 23, Team Spirit defeated PARIVISION (TEAM VISION) in the grand final of The International 2026 with a score of 3–2 and claimed the club’s third Champion’s Aegis in its history.

Photo by Ema Peter, Clive Wilkinson Architects.