Valve is super interested in virtual reality, that much we definitely know. But whether it's interested enough to build its own virtual reality headset is uncertain right now.
That's because Valve seems too busy supporting the Oculus Rift and other VR headsets on their way... On the other hand, a new hint from the company makes it sounds like Gabe etc are still working on some hardware of their own.
"There's also technology in development at Valve based around head-tracking and headset manufacture and design," Valve designer Brian Coomer told the BBC.
"We are working with other companies right now but we have not made any specific announcements."
Coomer added that Valve will release a virtual reality development kit during its Steam Dev Days, in order to provide devs with a standard for implementing VR controls in their games. There aren't many games with native VR support currently.
Stuck in the middle with you
Valve and Oculus Rift have a close relationship (Oculus told us itself) and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey will be leading one of the talks on VR at the Steam Dev Days next week.
So for the time being, it sounds like Valve is assuming a similar role to the one it's taking with the Steam Machines, acting as an enabler for third parties rather than pushing its own hardware.
Oculus Rift has been demonstrating the new Crystal Cove prototype version of its headset at CES 2014. The improved model reduces latency and adds position tracking via an external camera.
Studying the agenda for the Steam Dev Days, there's nothing that definitely screams "Valve virtual reality headset" right now, but we'll be interested to see what comes out of that talk on 'Virtual reality and Steam'.
