14 DAY TRIAL // A posting for a job opening at video game developer Valve seems to suggest that the company is working on a hardware platform, as rumors suggested during last month.
The official recruiting page states, “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.”
The electronics engineer that Valve will hire will work directly with the Research & Development team at Valve.
The core requirements for the new position include:
- Hands on prototyping experience - Lab and measurement skills - System level design experience - Knowledge of embedded systems/microcontrollers - Experience with high speed serial interfaces - Experience with schematic entry - Experience with circuit simulation - Four years relevant experience.
Rumors that Valve was getting into the hardware business appeared after a source inside the company talked about the new device and a number of forum posters claimed to have discovered an older design for the Steam Box as well as the controller than would be used for games running on the new device.
At that time Valve stated that it was not working on any sort of gaming hardware, but its leader Gabe Newell had previously stated that his company was ready to create devices if they were required to push forward the experiences that the company was developing.
The rumored Steam Box would be attached to a regular television set and would allow players to run all the video games that they have registered on the Steam digital distribution service.
The rumor suggested that the Steam Box would also allow users to install rival services, like Origin from Electronic Arts, in order to get their full collection away from the PC.