Visiting Valve Studios HQ (Bellevue, Seattle)

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aurawrah Feb 21, 2014 @ 9:32pm

Visiting Valve Studios HQ (Bellevue, Seattle) - NEED HELP

Hi, I am from Sydney, Australia and I'm going to be in Seattle for a few days in late March this year, before we go on to travel to various countries on holiday. I would absolutely love to visit the Valve Studios and have a private tour if this is possible while I'm there, preferably on Tuesday 25th of March.
I have called up Valve but the number only redirects to voicemail or tells me to go online for support. I tried emailing various email addresses, but I haven't had any luck with replies (it's been a month).

Could someone please direct me to the appropriate contact process to book a tour? Or tell me if private tours are still possible at the HQ? Thankyou.

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Showing 1-12 of 12 comments

WhereIsBusmin Feb 21, 2014 @ 9:34pm

Originally posted by aurawrah:
Hi, I am from Sydney, Australia and I'm going to be in Seattle for a few days in late March this year, before we go on to travel to various countries on holiday. I would absolutely love to visit the Valve Studios and have a private tour if this is possible while I'm there, preferably on Tuesday 25th of March.
I have called up Valve but the number only redirects to voicemail or tells me to go online for support. I tried emailing various email addresses, but I haven't had any luck with replies (it's been a month).

Could someone please direct me to the appropriate contact process to book a tour? Or tell me if private tours are still possible at the HQ? Thankyou.

I was actually there just 2 weeks ago. Email frontdesk@valvesoftware.com - that's how I got my tour.

ETA: I should mention that I wasn't on a private tour... I don't know if they would do those for non-media. They seem to do tours every 30-minutes or so, at least at the time of day I was there. There were about eight of us in the group. There were only three in the group before us.

Last edited by WhereIsBusmin; Feb 21, 2014 @ 9:51pm

WhereIsBusmin Feb 21, 2014 @ 9:43pm

It's a very neat building - way bigger than I thought it would be (they occupy five floors of the tower they're in). My bud and I actually got there early and were waiting in the first floor lobby before going up to Valve's reception and I had my back to the door to the buildings courtyard. One minute after sitting down my bud asked me "Is that Gabe?" (thought he was joking). I turn around and sure enough none other than Gabe himeself had just walked in from the courtyard carrying a laptop... he passed within 2 feet of me. Of course all I did was stare at him like a weird-o because I didn't know what to say. All I remember about him is it sounded like he was carrying a lot of change in his pockets as he walked. Unfortunatley I couldn't meet him after the tour... apparently he was in a meeting.

Last edited by WhereIsBusmin; Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:27pm

aurawrah Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:13pm

Thankyou so much for the info, WhereIsBusmin.
I did send my enquiry to that email (frontdesk@valvesoftware.com) and also sent another one, just to make sure. Still nothing.
Ah, I didn't think they did group tours! That's absolutely fine. Do you think I would be able to just rock up and ask if I could do one? I'm not having luck with a booking.

I hope I can meet Gabe too! Awesome!

WhereIsBusmin Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:18pm

Originally posted by aurawrah:
Thankyou so much for the info, WhereIsBusmin.
I did send my enquiry to that email (frontdesk@valvesoftware.com) and also sent another one, just to make sure. Still nothing.
Ah, I didn't think they did group tours! That's absolutely fine. Do you think I would be able to just rock up and ask if I could do one? I'm not having luck with a booking.

I hope I can meet Gabe too! Awesome!

It's odd you haven't gotten a reply, but I only say that because I got mine within a day or two. Also, I don't know about just showing up. We had to give our names before hand so they knew we were coming and "check in" at their reception upon arrival. I would be surprised if they turned you away at the door though, considering the distance you're going to be travelling. I'd just keep trying. They had pre-made "swag bags" at the end so they may just use the tour reservation as a means to know how many they need to make up. Maybe mention your country of origin in the email subject so they know the great distance you'll be travelling (i.e. "March tour for Aussie Fan").

Good luck though, it's well worth your time :-)

ETA: Two other possibly useful things from when I was arranging our tour: Mondays and Fridays don't work well for Valve, and their last tour was at 3:30pm. Whether or not these dates and times vary from month-to-month, I do not know.

Last edited by WhereIsBusmin; Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:24pm

aurawrah Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:23pm

Oh I see! Well I'll keep trying to contact them anyway and if that doesn't work out and I rock up, you're right.. I don't think they could turn me away when I say I came from Australia. :)

That's fine, I plan to do the tour on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks again!
Also, one more thing, are there any costs?

WhereIsBusmin Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:24pm

Originally posted by aurawrah:
Oh I see! Well I'll keep trying to contact them anyway and if that doesn't work out and I rock up, you're right.. I don't think they could turn me away when I say I came from Australia. :)

That's fine, I plan to do the tour on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks again!
Also, one more thing, are there any costs?

There was no cost. They'll even validate your parking for free if you park in the buildings underground lot.

Last edited by WhereIsBusmin; Feb 21, 2014 @ 10:26pm

MZ Feb 6, 2015 @ 10:18pm

Originally posted by aurawrah:
Oh I see! Well I'll keep trying to contact them anyway and if that doesn't work out and I rock up, you're right.. I don't think they could turn me away when I say I came from Australia. :)

That's fine, I plan to do the tour on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks again!
Also, one more thing, are there any costs?

So what happened in the end?

Literally Free Mar 4, 2015 @ 10:49pm

I'm planning on going in April. What's in the "swag bags"?

BRETT Nov 15, 2015 @ 3:02pm

Originally posted by GLaDOS:
I'm planning on going in April. What's in the "swag bags"?

How was yr tour did you go ?

Literally Free Nov 15, 2015 @ 4:05pm

Originally posted by 7urkm3n:
Originally posted by GLaDOS:
I'm planning on going in April. What's in the "swag bags"?
How was yr tour did you go ?

Never got to go... :(

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