The 2010 Game Developers Choice Awards has named Valve co-founder Gabe Newell as the winner of this year's Pioneer Award.
The Pioneer Award celebrates individuals responsible for developing a vital technology or game design at a crucial juncture in video game history, paving the way for the many who followed them. This year’s Choice Awards Advisory Committee included Ben Cousins (EA DICE), Harvey Smith (Arkane), Raph Koster (Metaplace), John Vechey (PopCap), Ray Muzyka (BioWare) and Clint Hocking (Ubisoft) among others.
Newell was given the accolade for his work in co-creating the PC key digital download service Steam, and “helping to make possible some of the most important video games of the past two decades -- from the Half-Life series through Portal to Team Fortress and beyond,” says a statement.
Gabe Newell will be on stage to collect his Pioneer Award at GDC 2010 in San Francisco this March.