Gabe Newell hand-delivered signed Steam Decks because he missed people

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The whole ordeal was Newell's idea

Steam Deck
(Image credit: Valve)

Update: A new video reveals handing out signed Steam Decks to customers was Gabe Newell's idea.

Just below, you can check out Valve's Kaci Aitchison revealing that the stunt was all the Valve president's idea. Aitchison, who accompanied Newell on his delivery run around the Seattle area - said that the video documenting the journey stemmed from the fact that he had missed interacting with customers over the past couple of years.

The delivery process didn't go entirely to plan - Aitchison mentions during the video that at least one person didn't entirely trust Valve's delivery email ahead of their arrival. Newell also commented that he was worried some people might be upset that he'd decided to sign their cases, but personally I can't imagine that being a problem.

Original: Valve boss Gabe Newell appears to be hand-delivering signed Steam Deck consoles to customers.

Over the past weekend, a few Reddit posts began to surface from users claiming to have received the Steam Deck by way of none other than Newell himself. The first post, just below, is expanded upon in the comments section, where the recipient claims that his wife received the Steam Deck from Newell, who was accompanied by an entire camera crew.

The post also reveals that Newell signed the protecting case for the Steam Deck. If the claim about the Valve boss being accompanied by a whole camera crew is true, then it's highly likely we'll be seeing footage of Newell delivering said Steam Decks at some point in the coming days or weeks.

A second post, just below, reveals Newell actually gave two people a Steam Deck each even though they didn't order one. In the comments, the user claims that they saw Newell and a camera crew going into a nearby house, and when they shouted out to greet him, he disappeared into a big van and emerged with two signed consoles for them each.

Newell's been doing a fair bit of publicity over the last year, but this is perhaps a step up from the time he made an appearance at a Q&A session in a New Zealand college. In fact, Newell just confirmed over the past weekend that the Steam Deck won't be receiving a price hike just yet. As for future price increases though, the door remains open to that possibility.

Check out our full Steam Deck review to see what we made of Valve's latest technological ambitions.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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