Valve Job Listings Admit Hardware Plans

Half-Life creators Valve are staffing up as they look to move into the gaming hardware business. New job listings on their website mention that they have some ambitious plans for hardware. They intend to make "whole new" experiences with whatever devices they create.

"For years, Valve has been all about writing software that provides great gameplay experiences," reads the intro on the two hardware engineer listings at the Valve jobs site. "Now we’re developing hardware to enhance those experiences, and you can be a key part of making that happen. Join our highly motivated team that’s doing hardware design, prototyping, testing, and production across a wide range of platforms. We’re not talking about me-too mice and gamepads here – help us invent whole new gaming experiences."

BR> The listings mention that these new employees would help the team create "new types of input, output, and platform hardware." In other words, yeah, they're not just looking to stick Gordon Freeman's face on a mouse and call it a day. They've got much larger plans.

Recent rumors suggested that Valve was close to announcing their own console, dubbed a "Steam Box." However, the company quickly shot down those rumors. They added that they're a "long way" from shipping any hardware. It'll be awhile before we find out what they're working on, then.