[antonymy]

Valve's issue is pretty much just a lack of serious competition against Steam. They do occasionally put out something new, just at their own pace. They aren't in any rush since their core business is virtually unassailable at this point.

They have less to fear about "professional executives" worming their way in because Valve is not a publicly traded company, unlike the other examples you mentioned. It's private, Gabe Newell calls the shots at the end of the day. There's no real avenue for people to buy their way onto a board of directors and exert influence on the company from on high, or oust its historic leadership. Valve's pretty well protected from that. But it can't protect itself from sloth induced by a lack of competition.

[giobox]

Realistically how does this end though? Unless technology is created to immortalize Gabe in a machine, at some point he presumably will want to sell or die.

Does it just become a bozo filled public-company at that point, chasing quarterly numbers? I think it's the biggest risk to Valve, speaking as a customer who loves their products/services today.

I would not at all be surprised to see it end in a Microsoft acquisition or joint venture of some kind, given their current appetites.

[mywittyname]

> I would not at all be surprised to see it end in a Microsoft acquisition or joint venture of some kind, given their current appetites.

This is absolutely what will happen.

[zen_1]

>Unless technology is created to immortalize Gabe in a machine.

Who knows, this could be how the Machine God is made.

[amag]

> Unless technology is created to immortalize Gabe in a machine

Ah, this is what Valve is working on...

[sph]

Can't Gabe name a successor among the people he really trusts? Not all companies have to go public and become cash cows for investors.

[giobox]

I’m not ruling that out - naming a successor is much the same as selling - ownership still transfers to an entity which at this time is unknown. There’s all manner of odd ball alternative ownership structures in existence that can be considered, but each of them would be still a transfer of ownership.

Passing to “people you really trust” is not an ideal foundation for an entity which has the potential to exist for many decades.

[Gareth321]

He has sons. He will pass the company to them. They will decide how it is run. Let's hope he's been a good father.

[giobox]

I mean, if Valve was just a deli or a corner store sure. It is very likely one of the most profitable-per-employee companies in the history of the world, and probably in the running for one of the most valuable privately-held companies in the world too. We also know Gabe adores making money, so... I think it to be very unlikely it just gets passed to a kid, but who knows.

Being private, we also don't really know how much of Valve Gabe actually owns - there may be other sizeable stakeholders with a say too.

[sph]

Someone with actual experience at Valve would be better suited for the role.