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| − | [[File:Valve logo.png|right|400px]]
| + | {{OtherWikis |
| − | '''Valve''' is an {{w|United States|American}} {{w|video game developer|video game development}} and {{w|digital distribution}} company based in {{w|Bellevue, Washington}}, U.S. that was founded in 1996, and made famous by its first product, ''{{w|Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life}}'', which was released in November 1998, and by its distribution software, {{w|Steam (content delivery)|Steam}}. They are known for their {{w|first-person shooters}}, the {{w|Source engine}}, and long development cycles.
| + | | ''{{w|Valve Corporation}}'' on {{w|Main Page|Wikipedia}} |
| − | | + | | [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve ''Valve''] on the [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page Valve Developer Wiki] |
| − | Valve's ever-expanding portfolio of entertainment titles includes further entries in the ''{{w|Half-Life}}'' universe, including ''{{w|Half-Life 2}}'' and ''Half-Life 2'' Episodes {{w|Half-Life 2: Episode One|One}} and {{w|Half-Life 2: Episode Two|Two}}; the four-player cooperative action horror franchise ''{{w|Left 4 Dead}}''; the multiplayer combat franchise ''{{w|Team Fortress}}'' including ''[[Team Fortress 2]]''; the award-winning ''{{w|Portal}}''; and #1 online action game ''{{w|Counter-Strike}}''. This portfolio of titles accounts for over 20 million retail units sold worldwide, and Valve games account for over 80% of the PC online action market{{cite}}.
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| − | == History ==
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| − | [[File:05 ravine 1.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', one of Valve's flagship products, began development in 1998 but remained unreleased until 2007.]]
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| − | Valve was founded as an L.L.C. based in Kirkland, Washington. After incorporation in April 2003, it moved from its original location to Bellevue, Washington, the same city in which their original publisher, {{w|Sierra Entertainment|Sierra On-Line}}, Inc., was based.
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| − | After the success of ''Half-Life'', the team worked on {{w|Mod (computer gaming)|mods}}, {{w|Spin-off (media)|spin-off}}s, and {{w|sequel}}s, including ''{{w|Half-Life 2}}''. All current Valve games are built on its {{w|Source (game engine)|Source}} engine, which owes much of its success to mods and sequels. The company has produced six game series: ''{{w|Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life}}'', ''{{w|Team Fortress}}'', ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'', ''{{w|Counter-Strike}}'', ''{{w|Left 4 Dead}}'', and ''{{w|Day of Defeat}}''. Valve is noted for its support of its games' modding community: most prominently, ''Counter-Strike'', ''Team Fortress'', and ''Day of Defeat'' each began as a third-party mod that Valve purchased and developed into a full game. They also distribute community mods on {{w|Steam (content delivery)|Steam}}.
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| − | On January 10, 2008, Valve Corporation announced the acquisition of {{w|Turtle Rock Studios}}. On October 5, 2009, ''{{w|Defense of the Ancients}}'' (''DotA'') developer IceFrog announced that he would be leading a team at Valve. On August 10, 2010, little under a year later, they filed a trademark for DotA. On April 8, 2010, Valve won ''{{w|The Escapist Magazine}}'''s March Mayhem tournament for the best developer of 2010. They beat ''{{w|Bioware}}'' in the finale and also ''{{w|Zynga}}'', the company behind {{w|FarmVille}}, in the semi-final.
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| − | == Products ==
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| − | {{Columns | colwidth = 33%
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| − | ;Source games
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life 2}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life 2: Episode One}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life 2: Episode Two}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life 2: Episode Three}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life 2: Lost Coast}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life 2: Deathmatch}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Counter-Strike: Source}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Day of Defeat: Source}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life: Source}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life Deathmatch: Source}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Team Fortress 2}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Portal}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Left 4 Dead}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Left 4 Dead 2}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Portal 2}}''
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| − | | col2 =
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| − | ;Console games
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| − | * ''Half-Life (PS2)''
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| − | * ''Counter-Strike (Xbox)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2 (Xbox)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2: Survivor (Arcade)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2 (Xbox 360)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2 (PS3)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2: Episode One (Xbox 360)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2: Episode One (PS3)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two (Xbox 360)''
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| − | * ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PS3)''
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| − | * ''Portal (Xbox 360)''
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| − | * ''Portal (PS3)''
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| − | * ''Team Fortress 2 (Xbox 360)''
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| − | * ''Team Fortress 2 (PS3)''
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| − | | col3 =
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| − | ;Goldsource games
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| − | * ''{{w|Half-Life}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Opposing Force}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Blue Shift}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Counter-Strike}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Counter-Strike: Condition Zero}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Counter-Strike: Condition Zero#Condition Zero: Deleted_Scenes|Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Day of Defeat}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Team Fortress Classic}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Deathmatch Classic}}''
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| − | * ''{{w|Ricochet}}''
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| | }} | | }} |
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| − | == External links ==
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| − | * [http://www.valvesoftware.com/ Official Valve website]
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| − | * [http://www.valvesoftware.com/company/ About the company]
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| − | * [http://store.steampowered.com/ Official Steam website]
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| − | * {{w|Valve Corporation}} on {{w|Main Page|Wikipedia}}
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| − | * [http://www.youtube.com/user/Valve Official YouTube Channel]
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| − |
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| − | ;Developers
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| − | * [http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/ Steamworks]
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| − | * [http://source.valvesoftware.com/ Source Engine]
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| − | * [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page Valve Developer Community] wiki
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| | [[Category:Valve| ]] | | [[Category:Valve| ]] |
| − | {{Languages}}
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