Gabe Newell to be Honored with BAFTA Fellowship

[Shawn Zipay]

On March 5, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will bestow upon Valve's Gabe Newell an Academy Fellowship. The event will take place during the British Academy Games Awards at London Hilton, Park Lane.

Only one person per year is granted this honor and it is reserved for those who show "outstanding and exceptional contribution to games."

On being informed of his Fellowship, Newell said: "It is an honor for myself and everyone at Valve to be presented such an award by one of the world’s most respected and recognised organisations. Valve owes a tremendous thanks to many in the UK – to those who have played our games, to the great support of the UK press, and to UK-based creative contributors such as Garry Newman. I look forward to accepting this prestigious honor on behalf of everyone in our community."

Harvey Elliott, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, added: "Gabe's contribution to the industry is unique, and he is very different to many others that BAFTA could recognise. As well as enjoying great critical and commercial success with phenomenally popular franchises such as Portal and Half-Life, his work in giving back to the games industry through developing and showcasing other games makers has been outstanding. He is an inspirational developer and truly deserving of our Fellow recognition."

Fun fact: The wait between the release of Half-Life and Half-Life 2 was six years. The wait between Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and now is six years.

[CptainCrunch]

6/2=3

[K-16]

Weird, I just heard the X-Files theme song outside my window, but there's nothing outside.

Anyways, I like how modest Mr. Newell is in terms of being recognized for anything in general. I remember at the VGAs, VALVe was the only company where Mr. Newell stood at the back, while the staff takes the main stage with the award holding acceptance speech.