Valve's popular The International tournament for Dota 2 kicked off today in Germany, and company co-founder Gabe Newell addressed the crowd with some opening remarks in which he said he has grown to love the game and still plays it every day despite facing some online harassment."Before that first International [in 2011], I really enjoyed the game, but after The International, I loved the game. It's not just the game I love, but the community. Sure, people talk shit at me in chat and about once a week, people say, 'Hey, noob, uninstall the game and [bleeped out],' but that's really about their enthusiasm for the game and the energy that they bring. And that's why after all these years, I still play Dota every day," Newell said.The first The International took place 14 years ago in Cologne, Germany, the same city where Gamescom is held annually. This year's event is taking place in Hamburg, Germany, and matches are underway now. Teams are competing for a share of millions in prize money.Dota 2, which is free, is consistently one of the most popular games on Steam. Today, September 11, it had more than 780,000 concurrent players at peak, trailing only Valve's other huge hit, Counter-Strike 2.In other news about Newell, the billionaire lives on a yacht and takes breaks between work meetings to go scuba diving. When he's not diving underwater, he's telling the youth that they should learn how to use AI because he believes it will be essential for success in the future.Newell dropped out of Harvard in the early '80s to join Microsoft, leaving the company as a millionaire with Mike Harrington to form Valve. He's now a billionaire, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $9.5 billion. Despite his immense riches, he still gets out there and talks to fans, as he personally delivered Steam Decks back in 2022.