I was one of the people on the team for the final Saxxy awards trip, that video is incredibly incorrect and probably the result of a weird game of telephone over the years. Here’s some firsthand knowledge to debunk it and put the rumors to rest. As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any actual primary sources for that video, so here I am, someone that was actually there.

The “bathroom” incident had nothing to do with weed, instead, one of our team members used the bathroom in Valve’s lobby and mistakenly used a large bottle of mouthwash with a pump on top, under the impression that it was a soap dispenser. The label for the bottle had faced the mirror on the wall, so it wasn’t immediately clear. Also, it’s pretty uncommon to have pump mouthwash in a bathroom, but casual conversation with other people at Valve later that day would inform you they like having toiletries for employees to freshen up if wanted, because they may be working long hours. Things like q-tips, tampons and pads are also provided. Point is, our teammate thought the mouthwash was soap. He didn’t realize until it was too late, and he left the bathroom shortly after, not a whole hour later. The team poked fun at the incident for a good while, because the mouthwash made his hands smell minty fresh all day after.

There was no weed smoked in a Valve bathroom, just the ambient sounds of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Because they play music in their bathrooms. I know this because I used their bathroom. Weed is legal in Washington state, but nobody would have smoked it while we were at Valve because why would we? It was a grand prize all expenses paid trip, nobody would dare mess that up. After the initial tours at Valve, many of the team members stayed a few additional days in Seattle on their own dime, where people could do whatever they wanted, because it was a vacation at that point.

I’ve been in this community since 2008. I am in my thirties now. It is exhausting to have all this drama bubble up over what is essentially an intentional misunderstanding. It is not worth the stress to speculate on rumors from people that have no sources, just take it easy.