Developer Threatens Gabe Newell, Valve Removes Game From Steam [UPDATED]

My favorite part of this whole thing is where he describes the places he'll be seeking future employment: "If I do continue to work in games it’ll be as an anonymous 1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation."

Wonder if that'll come up in the interview. Tragic that the guy cannot seem to stop self-destructing, but it's also way past time somebody had to deal with actual consequences for the vitriol they spew online.

Sorry, but...What the hell did he think was going to happen? I feel bad for the rest of his team, but maybe they're better off...

twitter ... get the fuck off of it and use facebook if you want to rant.

i understand in the context of the video game industry's douche problem that it can come off as exclusionary or distasteful, but as comedy it's not entirely malicious. if a girl reads his card and thinks that shit is stupid, and he says she doesn't get it because she's a woman, THAT'S when the dude is sexist and horrible. That's all I'm trying to say daug. i also don't think porn is fairly represented in mainstream media, it often gets portrayed as being all violent/revenge oriented instead of exploring the multitude of other kinks that people have.

it's obviously a really fucking stupid thing to have on your real business card that you're handing out to professionals, but i'm not going to sit here and pretend it's supposed to be anything but funny. i think when he said he would kill Gabe Newell, he was half-joking. but just as Jade Raymond would throw his business card in the recycling bin, so too did Valve bar his game from their service. considering the ongoing debates about the need to crack down on online harassers, clearly what he lacks as a comedian is timing.

Gabe Newell just cut his game... ah? AH? ok I will leave...

I don't agree. Threatening people is wrong. I know it, you know it, he knows it, everyone knows it. The guy already received his comeuppance in the form of his removal from any chance of seeing profit from the project in the near future. That being said, I have a minor problem with the do-gooders who have seen an opportunity to take the moral high ground over some 20 year-old kid and dogpile on top of him.

The people who say it's silly to remove the game or it's mean of Valve clearly have never worked in an actual company. Death threats(which this WAS, serious or not) are always taken seriously and anyone would be fired for threatening their boss. This guy wasn't some long time Valve employee who was there for 15 years and vented, it's some loud mouth idiot who JUST put their game onto steam. If they act like that, you don't do business with them. It has nothing to do with being a SJW, or the internet, or video games. It's business.

Just go to 4chan to express that shit man. Empty death threats are still threats and should never be tolerated.

Do any of you people saying "This was obviously a joke" think that it would go over well if you took to a public forum and said "I'm going to klll my boss?" I sure as hell don't think my boss would appreciate that. These are the very people who reinforce the socially-broken, basement-dwelling stereotype that people who are into games have to deal with.

@spraynardtatum: Letting him go is not blacklisting. If they let him go and proceeded to tell everyone not to hire him, then that would be blacklisting.

No matter how mad I was, I would never dare to threaten Gabe "The Butcher" Newell...

Absolute idiot of the first degree.

Not that removing him from steam is wrong but...still, kinda feel sorry for the guy.

Exactly my thoughts. It's bad enough that he's brought this situation on himself, but comments like that are a surefire way to piss off future employers before he's even walked in the building for an interview (if he even gets an interview after all of this). His comments about being an anonymous cog in a larger machine are incredibly insulting to the people who work for larger devs; like he's saying if you don't work for an indie studio like he did, and decide to work for a larger studio, you're worth as a developer is somehow lessened? Just seems like a shitty thing to say on all fronts.

I think he needs to re-evaluate the way he communicates professionally before he even thinks about applying for a job again... I just hope the other devs from his old team manage to work things out with Valve, it'd be a shame for them to lose out because of one man's mistake.

People have always anonymously shitposted, even way back in ancient Rome.(Talking about graffiti that people would paint on walls saying stuff like "Caesar loves the dong" or whatever).

@compulsiveliar said:

The alternative to this being a failed joke is that a guy who's smart enough to make, and finish, a decent game thinks that Gabe Newell is personally responsible for messing up the steam front page for his game. And he would then think the only reasonable solution would be to kill Gabe, but first announce it on Twitter.

No, this is a painfully bad and tone deaf joke but that doesn't mean I defend him in any way. People with that poor social awareness shouldn't have a Twitter account, or ever try sarcasm again.

I'm amazed that people think that Steam was not justified in removing the game. Not only due to the threat, but also due to the endless stream of negative press that follows this guy.

Moderator Note:

If you're thinking about embedding or quoting that developer tweet that uses the "c-word" (you know which one), please keep in mind that the GB forum rules still apply, and posts containing that word will be deleted. The first couple I deleted aren't in trouble, but I'm going to assume that anyone who posts it after this have read this, and they might get in trouble. Maybe, I dunno. It is still Sunshine and Smiles Week.

But having your game on Steam is a courtesy, not a right, and Valve is a company made of people, not robots.

Having your game on steam is a contractual agreement, not a courtesy. This really rubbed me the wrong way, because it goes back to the idea of accusing people of "entitlement" when they expect someone to follow through on their commitments, or deliver a quality product. I've already seen several people saying that this is about entitlement.

This guy had every right to be upset, and to explain over Twitter that Steam wasn't living up to their part of the agreement, but he should have been a LOT more respectful and careful with his words. He was not, so Steam had every right to end their agreement with him.

It really sucks for this guy, and I do feel kind of sorry for him, but hopefully he'll learn from the experience rather than it making him an even more bitter and hostile person. Anger can lead to some pretty bad things, and if he does learn that lesson now, it might end up saving him from making an even larger mistake in the future.

What a disaster this guy is. And not just because of the death threat. Good luck getting a job at one of those "shitty corporations," buddy!

It amazes me every day how stupidly people use Twitter.

so if you head to their website:

http://codeavarice.com/post/100614593088/formal-apology-from-code-avarice

they've put up an "formal" (read: not the hothead developer) apology.

good of them to come to their senses- but i'm still flabbergasted the 'master vallisca' twitter account dove headfirst into the fray without considering what actually might be best for the friend/dev. i understand the emotional need to defend what seems to be a good friend- but holy fucking shit dude, part of being a good friend is helping them to understand they've colossally fucked up. and then you help them through it.

but christ- at the end of the day the 20 year old "kid" essentially shat where he eats. it goes without saying, but don't needlessly piss off those who are writing your cheques.

tough lesson- but how about we all try being better to one another, eh?

tl;dr- "don't be an asshole." it'll serve you well.

You never know with stuff like that. The fact that a significant number of people have posted threats on social media and then made good on them sets a dangerous precedent.

The "clearly a joke" defense does not cut it when you consider seemingly jocular remarks about committing violence that turned into real world tragedies. I get it, from a rational, detached perspective it's easy to look at comments like that and think "that's too outlandish to actually happen." But enraged passions and abnormal behavior go hand in hand.

On top of that, even a purely hyperbolic or facetious threat can have a debilitating psychological impact. Celebrities are famous (see what I did) for people having difficulty conceptualizing them as actual human beings. Super-stars like Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, and Gabe Newell seem to accentuate that notion. Have you ever seen them in the same room together? Think about it... With the internet's dehumanizing tendencies layered on top of that, and the soapbox windtunnel that is social media, I think it can be argued that it's "easy" to go one step too far and say something you don't mean and might later regret. But that's no reason not to clamp down on that behavior.

Having now read the email that Valve sent the guy, I have to say they were even being incredibly lenient. They still offered them to get in touch if they wanted to provide patches to existing users on Steam.

This apology from the other owner of their studio mostly reads a lot better than the apology issued yesteday: http://codeavarice.com/post/100614593088/formal-apology-from-code-avariceI

Although this:

To stick with us if you really like the games we make. In the future. There will be a Code Avarice twitter account and no longer will game related things be dealt with on a personal account. Nor will we be part of any drama and negative trolling on any of these accounts. I need positive in my life now. Although I do enjoy a good trolling.

Hey let's throw in a joke about trolling in there because that is the mature thing to do.

Both of these guys should probably refrain from posting any text online for their own benefit!

@mooseymcman: Apologies, but is linking to one alright then in a context like this one? It's absolutely relevant to the story, as it could definitely change people's impression of the other developer of the game. And this is totally relevant to our current conversation.

bingo. its called consequences for action.

just because you dont think what someone did is a big deal doesn't mean that everyone else has to have to opinion.

I do feel bad for the team, but I have absolutely no sympathy nor pity for Mike Maulbeck. Simply put, I doubt much of anyone took the death threat seriously, but the fact that he made it at all (let alone his other comments) makes him the equivalent of a child throwing a tantrum and Valve had every right to respond by treating him as such.

Developers on Steam should not grovel at Valve's feet for the honor of being published on Steam and that is because it is a two-way street, but because it is a two-way street Valve in turn is certainly justified in denying a product or developer they feel does not meet their standards. Mistakes happen and developers have a right to complain and get angry until they are fixed, but when two parties are in a business deal together it is expected that that anger will at least be directed in a professional, adult manner, not in a childish Twitter tantrum.

Every time someone has to deal with real world, life changing consequences because they were being a dick online, I get a warm fuzzy feeling.

I wish every "swatter" would get jail time, that would make me happy.

I don't understand why it's so hard for people to just not write dumb shit online that can be documented forever and instead just complain with a coworker who probably feels they same way and will be sympathetic to your feelings. Is it so important that random strangers know your Steam release isn't going very well? There's some things social media is really good at; staying in touch with friends is one, publicly destroying your career and making yourself a target of trolls is another.

@spraynardtatum: Feeling bad for the guy and feeling like he got the humbling experience he had coming to him for a long time are not mutually exclusive concepts, you know. The world is not black and white.

Your comment gave me a warm fuzzy too. I don't have any empathy or compassion for people who cannot control their emotions, specifically in a public space.

Yeah this story is pretty wow. And that statement... Sheesh man. At least the guy realizes just how bad he is at being the face of his company. At least he is doing the right thing and stepping down in a complete way. I hope he learns to be less dramatic, that whole "1 in 1000 in a shitty corporate company" comment isn't really necesarry. Its okay to learn from your failures and try again. Spend a few years away and come back and form another studio if you want - its cool man. Just be honest with yourself and make sure you are ready for it next time. At least amongst the anger in his statement there is a trace of honesty. I hope this is the first step in this guys journey to being more humble and maybe coming into his own as a creator.

@splodge: indeed, some kind of Darwin Award is deserved for calling every other possible future employer "shitty"

Twitter, Facebook and similar stuff just needs to "die" and we'll have way less problems to worry bout. I face palm about 20 times a day just going through Twitter and what people post. There's always going to be stupidity but social sites like that just pop it in your face.

The internet was or at least seemed way more peaceful before all those sites existed.

@adetheterrible: I agree. I fully hope and expect his entire career to be ruined forever. I hope no one hires him.

Facebook is fucking great. The fact that it integrates with my google calendar is the only way I remember when one of my friends/family has a birthday coming up. I guess it can do other stuff too, but I wouldn't really know, I was chased off of there years ago by people spamming invites to zynga games.

@fminus said:

wait wait wait wait...

DID YOU JUST THREATEN FACEBOOK'S LIFE????

His apology was going alright, until that "1 of 1000 at some shitty corporation" comment. He can't seem to stop eating his own foot.

The world absolutely isn't black and white. I never said it was. This situation is beyond humbling and more in the realm of harassment.

This article caught my eye. I bought this game a while back on sale. I played it a bit but didn’t get super into it, which is neither here nor there, but I do remember looking at the forums and reading about the game a little bit at the time.

This game had a bumpy ride. Originally they submitted it through the Greenlight service, then somewhere along the way Adult Swim offered them a distribution deal, but Valve interfered. Valve felt at the time that allowing a game with a publisher to submit to Steam via Greenlight undermined the philosophical integrity of the service. They took the game off Steam then too.

If someone imparted this info earlier I apologize, I didn’t read all the way back through the comments, but I do think this bit of backstory is important. It provides a bit of context for Maulbeck’s accelerated anger. This wasn’t a guy flipping because one thing went wrong. This was a guy flipping because of a series of difficult experiences working with Valve.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not defending what he did. In my opinion the guy waived his right to release on Steam as soon as he took to a public forum and started accusing them of incompetence. If he was vying to have his picture amended to the dictionary next to the word “unprofessional” I think he made a good bid for it. If he was trying to make a change and get things fixed, well, then he bogeyed the bogey of all bogeys. But the guy is not a demon, he’s just an over entitled guy that fucked the mustard and needs to grow up.

Another thing to note is that the developer had a reputation of sometimes being at odds with the community on the forums. I don’t know what person or persons was involved with any of that, but I’m certain that Valve was hearing about it and that it may have affected their relationship with Code Avarice well before this particular incident.

When I was looking into this earlier today I saw that one of the other developers, Travis, had posted this on twitter:

“watching my wife cry over this is killing me. For once in my life, i dont have a clue how to fix something. I have to figure this out.”

That sucks. Because one guy didn’t have an accurate sense of how much his actions could affect the people around him, this other guy’s family is suffering and that’s not fair.

If Paranautical was a AAA title by EA, or something like that, with high sales projections and a massive promotion campaign, I’m not sure this situation would be playing out the same way. If the numbers were more significant to Valve on the business end, they might accept the resigning or firing of Maulbeck as a suitable apology and continue their relationship with the company. But since this is a small single-digit development team they’re spanking the entire team as a single identity.

Of course there is a chance they might change their minds. Ample time hasn’t been allowed for them to react to Maulbeck’s resignation, but if they choose not to go that route, I’m not sure that sits well with me. The whole of EA or Square or Ubi doesn’t get screwed when one guy does something stupid. To me this kind of “ethical scaling” is, well, pretty unethical.

So don’t be a dick kids, on the internet or otherwise. If you have to be a dick just to feel okay with yourself, then treat it like masturbation and do it privately with the windows and doors closed. If you can help it, don’t even make sounds with your mouth. Just swallow it down, say the words inside, and spare yourself the pain and embarrassment of having to look back at the person you were later in life.

@istareatthesun: well said.

How the fuck could you say you want to kill somebody on the completely public medium that is the internet and expect it to be ok? This guy has some serious emotional/anger issues, this incident will probably follow him for the rest of his life in one way or another and it was completely avoidable. Even the tone of his apologetic statement came off as negative. Instead of saying that he was going to strive to be better and get help for his anger issues, he condemns himself to working for a "shitty corporation". Good fucking luck getting a job at a "shitty corporation" with that attitude.

Now we just need some of those GamerGate people to put some games up on Steam so that they can get pulled down.