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As its digital download service Steam continues to dominate the software market, Valve looks set to jump into the hardware market too.
A recent job listing posted by the firm states it is looking for an industrial designer, and continues to highlight how the company is "frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space" and is "jumping in" in order to fill the "void in the marketplace."
Rumours surrounding a possible "Steam Box" console have long been circulating the web, but this news would seem to solidify these claims.
The move wouldn’t be entirely unexpected as Valve director Gabe Newell has continued to air his disapproval of Microsoft’s upcoming Window 8 operating system, even calling it a "catastrophe".
He continued to predict users’ first impressions of the OS, saying: "I think that they are going to find that they hate it. I think that they will basically rage quit computing after they use it."
Valve has even obtained a patent for a controller with swappable parts, which would seem to confirm its focus is firmly set on the hardware market.
The job posting makes no reference to any form of gaming PC hardware, but does highlight input devices including the keyboard and mouse, stating how they are elements that "haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years."
Over the coming months, Valve is set to expand its Steam service by offering non-gaming software amongst its catalogue of products, as well as porting the service over to Ubuntu at the beginning of next year.
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