With rumours and speculation having surrounded Valve’s supposed entry into the hardware business in the form of a ‘Steam Box’, the company has denied any such plans for months. That is, until now. In a recently posted job listing for the position of ‘industrial designer’ on Valve’s website, they’ve made their hardware plans clearer. They said:

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. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation of in the computer hardware space, 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 didn’t go into specifics about exactly what kind of hardware they’re intending to design and develop, so we could see something like a purpose-built gamer PC, or something closer to a game console. Whatever the case may be, it seems that Valve are serious about giving the current market leaders some new competition, and they certainly have the resources to do it.