Campo Santo, the small group (only 12 people) of developers behind the critically acclaimed Firewatch, have announced that they have agreed to join Valve.
On their official website, Campo Santo discussed the reasoning for this move. Here is an excerpt from their post detailing why Valve was such a great fit:
“In Valve we found a group of folks who, to their core, feel the same way about the work that they do (this, you may be surprised to learn, doesn’t happen every day). In us, they found a group with unique experience and valuable, diverse perspectives. It quickly became an obvious match.”
The new Valve team members also stated that
“Yes, we’re still making In the Valley of Gods (as a Valve game!); yes, we’ll still support Firewatch; and yes, we’ll still produce The Quarterly Review and our regular blog content. Thanks so much for your interest in our games and we’ll see you in Washington. Cheers.”
In The Valley of Gods was announced December 7th, 2017 during The Game Awards. Although no specific plot information has been revealed, the overall style and tone feel much like Firewatch. Luckily, the Campo Santo team will be able to continue their work on this promising new title under Valve.
As for the purchase of the developing studio by Valve itself, this was a fantastic move. For a company that has been criticized in the past due to the lack of developing quality games (or even new games in general), this news should quiet most of these complaints.
Are you happy with this move? Do you think this is the start of a new direction for the company? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow us here at The Nerd Stash for all of your nerdy news and needs!