Gabe Newell Ordered to In-person Deposition

Oh, you better watch out, you better not sue, better not pirate, I’m telling you why, Santa Gabe is coming to court! Ok, yeah it’s a touch contrived, but you write about anti-trust lawsuits and make it sound interesting. It is not easy. According to a three-page court order (via Gamesindustry.biz) the 61-year-old co-founder and president of Steam developer Valve has been ordered to make an in-person appearance. This follows Newell’s request to make his appearance remotely due to COVID-19. The CDC states an increase of 8.8% in the last 4 weeks of cases, with hospitalizations the week before Thanksgiving reaching 16.2k, 118 in King County, Washington alone.

The court order comes as part of the ongoing legal battle between Wolfire Games and Valve in the anti-trust sphere due to Steam’s cut from every sale. In the filing, it is stated: “[Wolfire Games] contend Mr. Newell is uniquely positioned to testify on all aspects of [Valve’s] business strategy.” Going on to state, “[Wolfire Games] assert only an in-person deposition would allow them to adequately assess Mr. Newell’s credibility.” Of course, Newell contends that he is at risk of contracting a serious illness like COVID-19. The filing goes on to state he has done what he can to minimize that risk in his life thus far.

The court (under Judge John C Coughenour) states that the 61-year-old “presents insubstantial evidence to suggest that he is at a particularized risk of serious illness (over that of the general public).” While I understand the court’s point, I’m also looking at a 60-year-old man who’s never been the most athletic of builds and under his own admission, has taken great pains to minimize the risks to his own health, which I read to mean “becoming a recluse”. The latter unduly leads to a weakened immune system. I’m not trying to disparage the man, I’m simply trying to make the point there is something to his claims.

Why is he needed? It all started with a lawsuit that was initialized back in 2021 about Valve’s anti-competitive practices, which was later thrown out by November of that year. May last year, as reported by Game Developer, Wolfire Games took advice from the Judge in that original case after it was deemed that, “[Wolfire did] not articulate sufficient facts to plausibly allege an anti[-]trust injury based on that market.” This of course is the 30% cut that Steam makes from every purchase.

Wolfire argues that Valve uses its “dominance to take an extraordinarily high cut from nearly every sale that passes through its store,” using its position as the largest gaming storefront on PC to “exploit publishers and consumers.” This is a common thing to point out ever since Epic started rattling cages with this sort of argument. It would be easy to say “Oh, this is just a developer of small things, who cares what they argue?” This is the same developer that made the wonderful Watership Down – MMA Edition in Overgrowth, a highly popular indie title.

Nonetheless, the court order from the US District Court for the Western District of Washington has made it clear that Gabe Newell will have to appear. He will make his deposition in person under two provisos: The court Newell is in is large and well-ventilated with only essential attendees. The court will follow masking procedure and rapid at-home testing the day before and the morning of as well as “other courts conclude” the credibility of claims made remotely. Those in attendance will have to wear N95, KF94, or KN95 masks while they are not speaking to the court, though it is up to Newell to provide said masks, for some reason.