Valve Confirms Plans to Enter Hardware Business

Rumors of Valve's plans for a Steam Box console have been doing the rounds for a while. Things got started back in February when Gabe Newell said in an interview that while Valve had no reason to believe it was any good at selling hardware, they had to continue to innovate, and if that meant developing and selling hardware, then so be it. In April, a job posting points to the existence of said hardware, which could be either a game console or a PC. Now it seems Valve doesn't care who knows about its plans to build hardware.

CVG points to a job posting published by Valve on its website that details the company's need for an Industrial Designer. The posting for the job first mentions "defining new entertainment experiences through both hardware and software." If that's not enough for you, Valve goes on to say it is 'jumping in' to the hardware space because it's frustrated by the lack of innovation.

"Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers," the posting reads. "We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked."

Valve is looking for someone with more than six years of experience shipping "world-class, high-tech hardware products." Earlier this year, rumors emerged that said the company was working on a hardware spec and associated software that would make up the backbone of a "Steam Box."

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