In the wake of having dropped out of Harvard University, Newell put in thirteen years working for Microsoft creating Windows forms 1.01, 1.02, and 1.03, eventually turning into a "Microsoft Millionaire". Newell has depicted himself as "maker on the initial three arrivals of Windows". Inspired by Michael Abrash, who left Microsoft to chip away at the PC amusement Quake at id Software, Newell and another Microsoft representative, Mike Harrington, left Microsoft to establish Valve L.L.C. in 1996. Newell and Harrington utilized their cash to store Valve L.L.C. through the improvement of Half-Life and GoldSrc.
Amid generation on Half-Life 2, he spent a while concentrating on the Steam project.
In 2007, Newell transparently communicated his dismay over building up his product for gaming reassures, especially the PlayStation 3. With respect to the framework, Newell was once cited as guaranteeing that creating forms for the console when all is said in done was "a misuse of everyone's time" and "a debacle on numerous levels ... I'd say, even at this late date, they ought to simply cross out it and do a do over. Simply say, 'This was a frightful debacle and we're sad and we're going to quit offering this and quit attempting to persuade individuals to produce for it'. Nevertheless, at Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2010, Newell showed up in front of an audience at Sony's keynote; while recognizing his past blunt remarks on console advancement, he examined the open way of Sony's PlayStation 3 stage, and declared Portal 2 for the console, commenting that with Steamworks bolster it would be the best form for any console. Newell has likewise censured the Xbox Live administration, alluding to it as "a train wreck". He was additionally seriously incredulous of Microsoft's working framework Windows 8, calling it a "calamity" and a risk to the typically open nature of PC gaming.
In December 2010, Forbes named Newell as "A Name You Should Know" essentially for his work on Steam having organizations with different major developers. In January 2016, Forbes assessed the total assets of Newell as $2.2 billion, positioning 1415th among all worldwide billionaires.
In March 2013 Newell got the BAFTA Fellowship for his remarkable and excellent imaginative commitment to the computer games industry.
