EA Tried to Buy Valve

Put down your pitchforks. Valve said no.

Electronic Arts, in its ongoing quest to consume the gaming industry whole, was prepared to cough up $1 billion dollars to acquire Valve, a new report has claimed.

In an article published by The New York Times, they claim to have seen a report that details the numerous opportunities Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has had in recent years to sell his much-fancied company. "Valve has been pursued over the years by Electronic Arts, which would very likely have valued Valve at well over $1 billion had the talks progressed that far," the article explains.

Senior figures at EA have frequently expressed their admiration for the company, so it’s likely that the deal never materialised due to reservations on Valve’s side. After all, with the recent success of titles such as fan-favourite Portal 2 and the ongoing popularity of the Steam distribution service, Valve has proved that it’s getting along quite nicely on its own. The company’s next step is a bold move into the hardware market.

Staff article by David Owen (September 10, 2012) David Owen is a freelance writer who also contributes to VG247, Eurogamer, IGN, and others. He likes Gitaroo Man more than is healthy.