Valve bosses Gabe Newell and Erik Johnson are flying to Australia next week, all at the expense of a modder who raised $3000 dollars for their airfare.
This is all because, earlier this year, Valve responded to criticism from a group known as “L4D2 Boycott (NO-L4D2)” by flying them to their office to try and convince them the new game is worth it.
There has been a long exchange of emails between Joe W-A, a Left 4 Dead modder and Newell, who asked why he had never been given the same treatment and flown over to the Valve HQ.
Newell told Joe W-A (“playfully”, Valve insists) they were “boycotting” the mod. Joe W-A then set up the “Fly Gabe Newell Campaign”, and within two days managed to raise the $3000 required.
Valve have actually gone through with it and are going over to Australia to meet up with Joe to look at his mod. It’s rumored that the company are actually paying the $3000 themselves and sending the money from Joe W-A to charity.
“The power of the gaming community and their ability to rally around a cause – be it serious or fun in nature – is amazing,” Newell added in a statement.
“In 2003, the community helped the FBI and European law enforcement officials find the people who stole the Half-Life 2 source code. This year, the community is putting me on a plane to the other side of the world to meet Joe W-A and see his mod. It’s going to be a fun trip.”
Check out the Left 4 Dead blog for reports on the journey.
