Newell, who is president and cofounder of Steam's parent company Valve, has also promoted the tech's other, far more sci-fi-esque use cases — including, as he told a New Zealand news station back in 2021, the ability to edit one's feelings.

At the time, Gaben was working on developing a BCI headset, though it seems now that Starfish is, like its Elon Musk-founded competitor, interested in "minimally-invasive" brain implants.

Besides bringing his BCI endeavor out of stealth, the famously reclusive billionaire has also been embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that Steam is essentially running a monopoly on PC gaming and charging exorbitant fees in the process.

He also, as the yachting blog Luxury Launches reported in February, sold his 220-foot megayacht, which he'd converted into a mobile hospital during the beginning of the pandemic.

It's clearly been an interesting few months for Gaben — though given that lawyers are collecting sign-ons for the class-action lawsuit against Steam, he may need some help raising money for Starfish once the settlements start being paid out.

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