Burglar Breaks Into Valve; Steals US$40000 Worth Of Equipment and Games

A man in the US was recently charged with breaking and entering the offices of Valve, the parent company of the digital platform, Steam. According to the Washington-based news station, KIRO 7, the crime took place on June 2018 and that the suspect is expected to show up in court tomorrow.

According to Seattle police, the suspect, Shawn Shaputis, broke into and gained access into the 11th floor of Valve’s office via a “non-functioning stairwell door” of a public restaurant. Once inside, Shaputis proceeded to pillage more than US$42,000 (~RM176,295) worth of items. The list reportedly includes between 15 and 20 ASUS laptops, Nintendo Switch consoles, 15 Xbox One, 23 PS4 games, and a minigun prop that Gabe Newell, Valve’s CEO used for a Forbes magazine feature.

How Shaputis got out with his “loot” was rather ingenious; according to the police, he wheeled dumped everything into a rolling recycling bin. Once he was satisfied, he simply wheeled the bin out back to his car across the street.

Ultimately, Shaputis was arrested after he was caught on camera selling his new-found goods to local game retailer GameStop. CCTV footage shows that he sold 43 videos games for $US336 (~RM1,410), while police also found several unsold stolen items in his car. Shaputis’ criminal record doesn’t end there; beyond his Valve caper, he also has multiple arrest warrants out for him, including one involving a stolen FedEx truck and a police chase.

At the time of writing, it was not confirmed if any company secrets were stolen in the burglary. One Seattle cop representative even joked saying “If you tell me this has something to do with a guy stealing the only known copy of Half-Life 3, I’m going to cry”.

(Source: PC Gamer, Games Industry, Polygon // Image: Polygon)

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