Valve Drops 13 Jobs In Their VR Department

Valve Confirms VR Employees Are Let Go!

In technological terms, there are few areas that are currently seeing such heavy investment than in VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality) technology. Practically every major game developer or tech company has a hand in it!

With various headsets being more commonly owned, it’s a factor that many companies simply don’t want to be left behind on. In a report via The Verge, however, with Valve confirming that several jobs have been cut within their VR department, is it some indication that Valve is giving up on it?

What Has Valve Said?

In an official statement, the company has said the following:

“Last month, 13 full time employees were let go and a portion of our contractor agreements were terminated. It’s an unfortunate part of business, but does not represent any major changes at the company. We thank those affected for their contribution and wish them well in future endeavors,” 

What Do We Think?

While this has caused some speculation as to whether Valve is getting out of the VR business, the company has confirmed that it is still a going concern. This is, therefore, more of a ‘restructuring’ without “any major changes” being made.

Valve has, however, over the last year shown more than a few indications that they are, if not taking a step away from VR, then least shuffling. I mean, laying off 13 jobs isn’t a decision often made. Not, at least, one that doesn’t result in “any major changes”.

What do you think? Are you surprised at the news? Is this an indication that less VR development will be made? – Let us know in the comments!