Valve Culture | Comparably
Valve is an American entertainment software and tech company developing video games and other related technologies. read more
EMPLOYEE
PARTICIPANTS
157
TOTAL
RATINGS
1113

Valve Company Culture

Valve Culture

This score is derived from employee ratings & reviews
3.7/5
Valve's Overall Culture is rated B-

Top Rated Culture Dimensions

Valve CEO

Top 15%Top 15% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably
Gabe Newell Valve's CEO
Gabe Newell
76 /100

Diversity at Valve

Top 25%Top 25% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably
B

Diverse employees at Valve have rated Perks And Benefits, Compensation, and Happiness as the highest categories they have scored

Women at Valve

Bottom 15%Bottom 15% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably
D

Women at Valve have rated CEO Rating, Team, and Work Culture as the highest categories they have scored

Valve eNPS

Net Promoter Score tracks your employees' overall score to this question: "On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend working at your company to a friend?"
Top 30%Top 30% of Similar Size Companies on Comparably

Recommend to a Friend?

29

Valve employees are 29% more likely to recommend Valve as a great place to work

62%Promoters
5%Passives
33%Detractors

Working at Valve

Working at Valve is rated average by 157 employees, across various culture dimensions. Valve employees are most satisfied about CEO Rating, Compensation, and eNPS categories, putting Valve’s culture in the Top 40% compared to similar sized companies on Comparably and in the Top 50% compared to other companies in Seattle. See below in detail how working at Valve was rated by employees.

Overall Company Culture at Valve

B-

Overall Company Culture at Valve is rated B-

Last updated today

Top
40%

Valve ranks in the Top 40% of other companies on Comparably with 201-500 Employees for Overall Company Culture Score

Overall Company Culture Score by Department

This graph details how each department scores their Overall Company Culture

Results from 157 Employees

View Results
0
20
40
60
80
100
Design
82
Design82
Engineering
74
Engineering74
Admin
51
Admin51

Valve Employee Reviews

Out of 121 Valve employee reviews, 91% were positive. The remaining 9% were constructive reviews with the goal of helping Valve improve their work culture.

91%
9%
Positive Reviews91%
Constructive Feedback9%

Positive Reviews From Valve Employees

  • What do you like best about the leadership team?
    Verry Good the leadership team
  • What is the best part about your compensation package?
    being compensated fairly by salary
  • What is most positive about the culture and environment at your company?
    Big John's handshakes and the nice crisp water

Constructive Feedback From Valve Employees

  • What's going wrong and how can it be improved?
    They are just completely making poor decisions i.e., not hiring the best person who could ever be hired there (me).
  • What do your coworkers need to improve and how could you work together better?
    They need to become my coworkers by getting me hired. They should all listen to what I say because I know better than them.
  • Why do you feel undervalued and what would make you feel better about your compensation?
    I wasn't given a job which I definitely deserved, they should give me a job and also 40% of the company.

Valve Company Information

Valve Company Overview

Valve is an American entertainment software and tech company developing video games and other related technologies.

Valve was founded in 1996 and its current CEO is Gabe Newell. Since its inception 30 years ago, Valve has grown to 360 employees.

Valve Mission, Vision & Values

Valve Mission & Values

Valve is the creator of Steam, the world’s largest online gaming platform. Steam turns any PC or Mac into a gaming powerhouse by providing instant access to a huge library of titles, and by automatically keeping a user’s games completely up to date. With an active user-base of over 75 million, Steam also connects gamers with each other, making it easy to find friends, keep track of each other’s gaming activity, and easily play games together. Since its inception as a service for updating Valve’s own game Counter-Strike, Steam has grown to become a service used world-wide, translated into 26 languages, and with content servers on every continent (save Antarctica, but we’re sure that’s just a matter of time).

HeadquarterBellevue, WA 98004
United States of America
Websitewww.valvesoftware.com
Founding Date1996
Tel(425) 889-9642
Company StatusPrivate
Social Sites

Valve Competitors

Valve competitors include Activision Blizzard, Twitch, and GameSalad. Valve ranks 2nd in Overall Culture Score on Comparably vs its competitors. See below how Valve compares to its competitors with CEO Rankings, Product & Services, NPS, Pricing, Customer Services, Overall Culture Score, eNPS, Gender and Diversity Scores.

  1. #1
    Activision Blizzard's Logo
    Activision Blizzard
    3.9/5
  2. #2
    Valve's Logo
    Valve
    3.7/5
  3. #3
    Twitch's Logo
    Twitch
    3.6/5
  4. #4
    GameSalad's Logo
    GameSalad
    3.2/5
  • Culture Video

Valve Employees

Valve has 360 employees. 157 employees at Valve have reviewed Valve across various culture dimensions, providing their opinions on items ranging from executive ratings to the pace at work. The latest review was today.

Overall, the 157 Valve employees give their leadership a grade of C+, or Top 50% of similar size companies on Comparably. This includes specific ratings of their executive team, CEO, and manager.

Employees at Valve are pleased with their total compensation at Valve, which includes a combination of pay, stock and equity, and benefits.

Overall, employees at Valve are generally satisfied with their team. 157 Participants grade the quality of their coworkers a C. The majority believe the meetings at Valve are effective, and the majority look forward to interacting with their coworkers.

The majority of employees at Valve believe the environment at Valve is positive. Most Participants believe the pace of work at Valve is extremely fast. About 35% of the employees at Valve work 8 hours or less, while 38% of them have an extremely long day - longer than twelve hours.

Overall, the employees at Valve are generally happy, based on their aggregated ratings of future outlook, customer perception, and their excitement going to work.

Joining Valve - Employee Onboarding

The prevailing opinion from Comparably users in Seattle about their company is that it was very prepared on their first day. Seattle employees concluded that their overall onboarding experience was positive. 70% said their direct manager was helpful with their acclimation during the first 90 days. First impressions are important, and how prepared a company is on your first day leaves a lasting impression.

Valve KPIs and OKRs

Employees’ understanding of Valve's KPIs and OKRs is essential for its success. Out of 4 Valve employees who’ve answered, “Are your company’s goals clear and are you invested in them?” 2 have said yes.

AnswerPercent
Yes50%
No50%
Are your company's goals clear, and are you invested in them?
AnswerPercent
Yes0%
No0%
Are the KPIs/OKRs for your department clear?

Valve CEO & Leadership

Valve CEO - Gabe Newell

Gabe Newell Valve's CEO
76 /100

Gabe’s approval rate is in the Top 15% of all CEOs of similar-sized companies on Comparably, and in the Top 25% compared to the CEOs of all other companies in Seattle. Valve’s CEO is highly regarded especially by Asian or Pacific Islander employees, employees with Entry Level experience, and employees in the Design department. However, employees with Over 10 Years experience, employees in the Admin department, and Caucasian employees have a less favorable view of the CEO and believe there is room for improvement. Compared to Valve’s competitors, Gabe Newell ranks right above Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. Under Newell’s leadership, Valve employee respondents are most happy about their Compensation and the company’s Perks And Benefits. Environment and Gender are two areas, according to respondents, where Valve could stand to see real improvement.

Valve Leadership

The Valve Executive Team is rated a “C+” and led by CEO Gabe Newell, VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi, and Chief Operating Officer Scott Lynch

  • Gabe Newell  CEO / President

    Gabe Newell CEO / President

    Gabe Newell serves as the CEO / President of Valve.

  • Doug Lombardi VP of Marketing

    Doug Lombardi serves as the VP of Marketing of Valve.

  • Scott Lynch Chief Operating Officer

    Scott Lynch serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Valve corporation. Scott started at Valve corporation in January of... read more

  • Bill Suggs CFO

    Bill Suggs serves as the CFO of Valve corporation. Bill started at Valve corporation in January of 1997. Bill is... read more

  • Jamaal Bradley Senior Character Animator / co-Animation Director

    Jamaal Bradley serves as the Senior Character Animator / co-Animation Director of Valve.

Valve Salaries

How much does Valve pay?

How much do people at Valve get paid? See the latest salaries by department and job title. The average estimated annual salary, including base and bonus, at Valve is $107,490, or $51 per hour, while the estimated median salary is $99,193, or $47 per hour.

At Valve, the highest paid job is a General Counsel at $265,585 annually and the lowest is a CS Rep at $37,363 annually. Average Valve salaries by department include: HR at $89,795, Customer Support at $58,411, Product at $137,957, and IT at $98,971. Half of Valve salaries are above $99,193.

62 employees at Valve rank their Compensation in the Top 25% of similar sized companies in the US (based on 181 ratings) while 55 employees at Valve rank their Perks And Benefits in the Top 35% of similar sized companies in the US (based on 56 ratings).

Last updated 12 days ago.

1st Percentile
$57k
$57k1st Percentile
17th Percentile
$77k
$77k17th Percentile
33rd Percentile
$90k
$90k33rd Percentile
50th Percentile
$161k
$161k50th Percentile
67th Percentile
$263k
$263k67th Percentile
83rd Percentile
$273k
$273k83rd Percentile
100th Percentile
$347k
$347k100th Percentile
$107,490*
Average Compensation
$99,193*
Median Compensation

* Estimated salaries Estimated salaries are based on data provided anonymously by employees and/or estimated by other statistical methods.

Valve Salaries by Department

Explore Valve Salaries

Diversity & Inclusion at Valve

Diverse employees at Valve score the company 78/100 across various culture categories, placing Valve in the Top 25% of companies on Comparably with 201-500 Employees for Comparably's diversity score. The Diversity score provides insights into how diverse employees feel and rate their work experience at Valve across various culture dimensions.

Ranked Culture the Highest

Women 70/100
Department - Design
Men 95/100
Tenure - 2 to 5 Years
Diverse Employees 88/100
Department - Design

Ranked Culture the Lowest

Women N/A/100
Men 60/100
Tenure - 1 to 2 Years
Diverse Employees 79/100
Department - Engineering

Valve Perks & Benefits

Health & Wellness

  • Health Insurance

Paid Time Off

  • PTO / Vacation Policy

Valve PTO

Valve's PTO and Vacation policy typically gives unlimited days off a year.

AnswerPercent
Flex Time100%
Vacation Policy0%
Office Meals0%
401k Contribution0%
Childcare0%
Other than healthcare, which of the following benefits is most important to you?
AnswerPercent
Yes0%
No0%
Does your boss expect you to work when you're on vacation?
AnswerPercent
$2500+/mo0%
$1500 - $2500/mo0%
$1000 -$1500/mo0%
$500 -$1000/mo0%
Less than $500/mo0%
What do you estimate the cash value of your benefits to be? Healthcare, PTO, etc?

Valve Careers

Valve Jobs

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H1B Visa

In 2019, Valve applied for 15 H1B visas. Of the work permits applied for, 100% were approved.

Work Permit Application Outcome

Valve has a total of 360 employees

15
Total Applied
  • 100% Granted (15 out of 15)
  • 0% Denied ( out of 15)
  • 0% Withdrawn Application was withdrawn by the employer before approval/rejection ( out of 15)
  • 0% Certified-Withdrawn Application was approved but later withdrawn by employer ( out of 15)

This data was calculated using publicly sourced data from OFLC Performance Data

Let Valve Know You Want To Work There

Overview of Candidates Interested in Valve on Comparably

Candidates By Department

Engineering
67%
All Industries
33%

Candidates By Location

Seattle
67%
Glendale
33%

Frequently Asked Questions regarding Valve

Who is the CEO of Valve?

Valve CEO is Gabe Newell, their score by employees is 76

What is Valve eNPS?

The eNPS for Valve is 29

What is the salary for Account Manager in Valve?

Account Manager average salary in the US is 90k

What are the salaries in the Operations in Valve?

The average salaries for Operations in Valve is 98k

How many employees work in Valve?

Valve has 360 employees

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