Valve Does a Round of Layoffs As Part of “Large Decisions” For Future

When it comes to layoffs, it appears that no one is safe.  Not even Valve.

Yesterday, a reported 25 people were laid off from the company, according to various news sources.  Though exact terms weren’t revealed as to why they were laid off, the words “large decisions” were passed around, along with “great cleansing.”  The cuts were made across more than one department, though the big one was Android development and hardware.

This leaves a big question mark as to what Valve has planned with the future.  The company was looking to move into a hardware manufacturing direction with the forthcoming Steam Box, which would enable gamers to access their library for play on a TV.  No other games have been announced, although, obviously, people want Half-Life 3 or Half Life 2: Episode 3 rather badly.

Without any official word from Valve just yet, it’s hard to determine just how bad this damage is.  Regardless, we certainly wish the employees who were let go the best of luck in landing new gigs.  After all, they worked on Portal and Left 4 Dead, people.  They must know what they’re doing…