In context: Valve has always been a PC-focused game developer first and foremost, despite a few isolated forays into the world of console gaming with the Xbox 360/PS3 releases of the Left 4 Dead games and the Orange Box. However, that could change soon if recent comments from company CEO Gabe Newell are anything to go by.
As we’ve reported in the past, Newell has been hunkered down in New Zealand for quite a while now, as a self-proclaimed Covid “refugee.” He admires how the country has handled the virus so far and has even discussed the possibility of helping game devs relocate to New Zealand so they can return to in-office collaboration.
To give back to the country for its hospitality, Newell on Monday visited the Sancta Maria College in Auckland, NZ to speak with students and answer questions about his profession.
When asked whether Steam would port any additional games to consoles or remain focused on PC, Newell had a particularly interesting response (thanks to Redditor Odysseic for recording the discussion).
“You will get a better idea of that by the end of this year,” the CEO said. “And it won’t be the answer you expect. You’ll say ‘Ah-ha! Now I get what he was talking about.'”
It’s hard to determine what Newell could’ve meant with that reply. Obviously, Valve has some sort of plans for console games, but that could mean anything — is Steam coming to consoles? Is Valve launching a new cross-platform title soon? Will it be porting an existing game to next-gen devices such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X?
For now, we don’t know. Fortunately, based on Newell’s “by the end of this year” wording, it seems we won’t have to wait long for Valve to answer those questions itself. When they do, we’ll report them here, as usual.
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