Valve may be a sleeping giant when it comes to video game development, but it seems like this giant is waking up after president Gabe Newell confirmed that the developer is going to start shipping games once more. The company is behind some of the most influential games in video game history, with the impact of the Half-Life series on game storytelling and mechanics well-documented. On top of that, the likes Left 4 Dead and MOBA title DotA 2 showed that Valve had something of a magic touch.
However, things started to slow down on the game development side for Valve. Instead, it seemed as though the company’s Steam digital distribution platform was taking priority, with the platform becoming the most accessible way for PC users to play video games. Although Valve did announce the development of the DotA 2-themed card game Artifact in 2017, the reaction was far from positive, and many gamers wondered whether Valve would ever move back into full-on game development again.
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However, it turns out that Valve is indeed going back to game creation as a whole. As reported by PC Gamer, Gabe Newell has now confirmed that “Valve’s going to start shipping games again,” and this means games being developed beyond Artifact. Instead, the game is going to be one of “several” projects on the cards for the company.
The news was revealed during a presentation on Artifact at Valve’s headquarters, and although Newell was coy about the projects in development, based on previous comments from the developer it may well point towards more than just the three VR games that Valve had been working on. On top of that, however, Newell also hinted that the company could be doing more than just game development. Newell admitted his jealousy when looking at Nintendo, and the way that the company could develop a new Zelda or Mario game with a specific bespoke controller in mind, stating “the new arrow we have in our quiver, really, is our ability to develop hardware and software simultaneously.“
This may well mean that Valve is also going to step a little further into the world of hardware, with Newell suggesting “that’s something that you’ll see us taking advantage of subsequently.” The company’s close ties with the HTC Vive headset certainly gives Valve some solid scope to do things within the VR sphere that other developers might not, while the Steam controller and Steam Link also showed Valve dipping a toe. However, going into hardware is always an expensive gamble, and Valve will want to make sure that its next moves have more of a positive reception than its current crop.
Although fans of Valve’s work will no doubt be very happy to hear that the company is going to start making games again, there’s also likely to be a level of caution. It’s been a long time since the developer created a single player game, and some may wonder whether Valve can deliver after such a long time in the sidelines. However, given the company’s track record these new games will hopefully be something special.
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