Valve Fires Two Dozen Android, Hardware Staffers

Gaming company Valve has fired several dozen employees from its Android and hardware divisions.

While an initial report from Gamasutra claimed “several” employees had been terminated, new reports are suggesting upwards of 25 employees were given the boot.

A tweet from hardware designer Jeri Ellsworth confirmed the layoffs with a simple note:

“Yup. Got fired today. Time for new exciting projects.”

Several employees used the phrases “great cleansing” and “large decisions” to explain the layoffs. At this time, the firings are unconfirmed by Valve.

So far, we know that Android and hardware staffers have been fired. It is still unclear if any other Valve employees were cut from other areas.

Ellsworth specifically was responsible for creating living room PC controllers. Ellsworth was attempting to turn the keyboard and mouse controls into a gamepad that wouldn’t mess with current Steam game designs.

Valve in recent months has turned its focus to the Steam Box, a PC streaming and gaming console that connected to living room TVs. Ellsworth’s technology was meant to work alongside the launch of Big Picture Mode and controller navigation.

Valve is not responding to calls or emails for more information at this time.

Are you surprised by the sudden Valve layoffs?