http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/re ... lve-465681

Report: Google to buy Valve
Google Freeman reporting for duty?
Rumours are flying around the blogosphere that Google is buying Half-Life makers Valve – and the 15 million registered gamers that use the Steam content delivery system.

Valve rose to prominence with Half-Life – one of the greatest PC games of all time – and the success of 'mod' Counter Strike.

Half Life 2 became another massive hit across several platforms, and also helped popularise the Steam delivery system, that allows patches and even full games to be bought on the internet, missing out the normal distribution chains.

Steam on

Steam is now far and away the most accepted online distribution method for the PC, and the company has a massive fanbase that is spilling over onto other platforms after releases of Valve games on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

It does indeed make an enticing package for other major companies, but the links to Google are likely to surprise many.

On the face of things both Valve and Google are young much-appreciated companies which have been massively successful in their sectors.

Google has not involved itself in gaming thus far in any major way, but Steam is something that would appear to offer the company something closer to its heart.

Plausible

"The rumours that Google will bid for Valve certainly sound plausible: Steam is the highest-profile digital delivery system that exists in the games world, and it's obvious that Google, in its eagerness to achieve even greater dominance of the Internet, would find that attractive," says freelance games journalist, Steve Boxer.

"Predicting what it might do to the development and engine technology side of Valve is somewhat trickier, though. Although Valve, as a developer, would surely love to have Google's financial muscle behind it."

TechRadar contacted Google for comment and we were told that the company does not comment on rumour or speculation.

More to follow...

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The stats below lie. I'm actually much much worse.

So, Google is the latest trend? The last rumors I heard were about EA or Microsoft, especially now that Crysis Warhead is coming to Steam... I think this is all bullshit anyways... Doug Lombardi couldn't keep his gob shut as usual (don't get me wrong - he's awesome and full of passion but sometimes he talks before he thinks :-P) but later Gabe dismissed the rumours in a humorous fashion: he said that Valve had no plans to acquire EA or Microsoft. ;-)

Either way - better Google than Microsoft or especially EA... While Google is also evul like we discussed in the Chrome release thread it doesn't cramp its employees' creativity.

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War does not determine who is right - only who is left. - Bertrand Russell

Now we know who the "G"-Man really is

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B3TA's Clan Leader

Its a rumor, but with VALVe shopping for someone to buy them i'd rather see them ending up in the hands of Google then in the hands of a EA which will most certainly wreck the company.

for sure

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"Destiny finds those who listen, fate finds the rest"

lock thread

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"I have come to shut this thread down. If I see anybody posting in here from now on, I will kill them.
In cold blood.
Thank you for your co-operation."
[SpA]DrMcMoist

I'd say we're gonna lobby with Google

l0lz0rdz there's a good rumor spreader alive..

In other words; it's all false.

linklylinksdfzzzzzz

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^.-
motherfuckin rabbits ejaculating sunshine

I think there's one point we all have to keep in mind when speculating about potential takeovers... Gabe Newell spent years working at Microsoft and founded his own company to be independent from major corporations - I presume he wouldn't be persuaded too easily to give up all that, not to mention the fact that he *probably* isn't very poor and makes millions off Valve which is still privately held after all... The only reason for him to sell the company would be becoming a billionaire instead of a multimillionaire although Valve might get him there eventually too. Either that or getting bored of all the awesomeness Valve is churning out. ;-)
Not to mention the fact that Valve is a Limited Liability Company so it can't be taken over easily without the shareholders' consent by e.g. using some tricky stock buyouts.

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War does not determine who is right - only who is left. - Bertrand Russell

true, so true!

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anything EA touches just rolls over and dies.. I rather see valve stay independent <3