Valve to debut TV-centric hardware next year

Valve hopes to debut a piece of hardware meant "to make Steam games more fun to play in your living room" sometime next year. Engadget interviewed Valve employee and inventor Jeri Ellsworth about the long- and short-term goals of the company's new hardware division.

Ellsworth's team is currently working together with Steam's Big Picture Mode to find a hardware solution for making make mouse and keyboard games more playable in front of the television. Whether this means lap-based keyboard and mice, hybrid controllers, or something entirely different remains to be seen, but Valve is already testing several devices internally, with the first public beta slated for 2013.

The company already has production lines for cranking out small amounts of hardware prepared, but the wearable computing initiative talked up by co-founder Gabe Newell is not in the immediate future. Ellsworth said consumers will likely see that type of device from Valve within the next two to five years.