When you have a stable business with a guaranteed source of huge amounts of revenue, that all you have to do is basically maintain at a very low cost…

Most other revenue can be thrown at whatever, in how ever long it takes to do well and properly timeframe.

Actual innovation requires a series of creative ideas that are explored thoroughly, without overwhelming pressure or influence on decision making, or timetables.

Valve’s position allows them to do this.

Lots of those things go no where, but a good number of them work out, and basically revolutionize the industry, more than making up for the projects that do not work out.

As a certain wise old man once said:

“These things, they take time.”