Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Gabe Newell kind of lucked out when the COVID-19 pandemic started. When the feces hit the fan worldwide, he happened to be on holiday in New Zealand and ended up sticking around there as the world began taking full notice of the disease. New Zealand has not only allowed Newell to stay in the time since, but also done well at combatting the virus and nearly snuffing it out entirely in the country. Now it seems Newell may be looking to bring more of the Valve team over to the country as he aims to talk to the Prime Minister of New Zealand about developers relocating there.
The discussion in question was revealed in a video on the Valve News Network YouTube channel, where it was noted that Gabe Newell, Geoff Keighley, and other major industry voices took part in a roundtable discussion. Though little of that discussion could be shared due to NDAs, Newell himself supposedly gave clearance to report that he would be talking to the Prime Minister of New Zealand about developers relocating to the country in order to avoid the limitation of work-from-home conditions.
Newell’s conversation with the New Zealand Prime Minister is part of an ongoing campaign supporting the country since he has lived there for six months and is now a legally taxed citizen, a condition for which he has worked to give back through charities and even a concert event in celebration of the country becoming nearly COVID-free.
“Because I've been going on a pro-New Zealand campaign lately, I'm probably going to be meeting with the Prime Minister," Newell said, "and one of the positions I'm going to be arguing for is that, given there is something super valuable that has been created here in New Zealand due to the hard work of the population of New Zealand, there is likely a large want to temporarily relocate production teams into the country.”
Though Newell doesn’t mention his own company by name, it’s hard to imagine he doesn’t mean to move parts of Valve to New Zealand. He would go on to mention elsewhere in quotes that production at his company has been hampered by around 50 to 75 percent due to work-from-home conditions in the US. This is even despite having successfully launched Half-Life: Alyx earlier this year. It’s also uncertain just how much of Valve he might be aiming to move. Whether it’s the whole company or just opening up a new office in New Zealand and bringing some key people over is uncertain.
Regardless, if the above information is to be believed, Gabe Newell seems certain that the future of his particular company and the growth of the gaming industry may lay in New Zealand. Expect more on this story as new information becomes available.