14 DAY TRIAL // Valve has posted a new job listing for an industrial designer that will help the company bring innovation to the hardware market, as the studio, according to the description, is frustrated by the stagnation seen in this segment of the industry.
Valve is more than just a video games developer, as the studio may be responsible for huge franchises like Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Counter-Strike, or Portal, but it’s also running the hugely successful Steam digital distribution service, which will soon sell not only games but also software programs.
Now, the studio has revealed a new job listing for an Industrial Designer that will help it bring innovation to the hardware market.
“Valve is traditionally a software company,” the company said. “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 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.”
Like any position at Valve, this job isn’t a regular one, as the studio wants potential candidates to continuously communicate with users in order to see what products consumers actually want.
“At Valve, our design process really gets going once products are in customers’ hands,” the studio added. “Our best work is the result of an ongoing dialog with customers. Through years of shipping software as a service through Steam, our digital distribution platform, this has become fundamental to the way we create great products. With an engaged community of millions of users, what will you ship? What will you try, and what will you learn through doing so?”
Valve was already rumored to enter the hardware market by releasing a special SteamBox mini-PC, but the company quickly dismissed the report, so it’s going to be interesting to see what it can do with the help of this Industrial Designer.