Valve Data Reveals Employee Pay and How Few It Employs

A document from Wolfire’s antitrust lawsuit against Valve reveals data and information on the company that sheds light on its internal operations, including employee headcount and payroll.

Valve, renowned for its secretive nature, has substantial influence in the gaming industry through its management of the PC gaming digital distribution service and storefront, Steam. Despite this influence, Valve operates with a relatively modest workforce compared to giants like EA or Riot Games; as of 2021, leaked data revealed that Valve employed just 336 staff members.

The employee data spans from 2003, shortly after Valve’s founding in 1996 and the launch of Steam, to 2021. SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik discovered that certain information within the document remained visible despite extensive redaction, revealing details such as Valve’s headcount and total payroll across different divisions spanning 18 years. Additionally, the document contained glimpses into Valve’s gross margins, although these details were not fully accessible.

Noteworthy points in the data include Valve’s peak spending on “Games” in 2017, totaling $221 million, despite no major game releases that year. By 2021, this expenditure had decreased to $192 million. Additionally, as of 2021, Valve employed only 79 individuals for Steam, a pivotal player in the gaming storefront landscape.

Surprisingly, “Hardware” constituted a relatively small segment of Valve’s operations, employing just 41 individuals in 2021 with a gross pay exceeding $17 million. However, following the success of the Steam Deck, it’s plausible Valve has expanded its hardware team. Pierre-Loup Griffais of Valve indicated in November 2023 that the company now considers itself a robust hardware entity.

Wolfire’s lawsuit highlighted concerns about Valve’s allocation of resources, alleging the company devotes a minimal fraction of its revenue to enhancing the Steam Store.

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