Xi3 disputes Valve claims of "no involvement" in Project Piston

When a Valve representative claimed yesterday that the company "currently has no involvement" in Xi3's Project Piston, the news came as a surprise to anyone who followed the device's unveiling at January's Consumer Electronics Show. It even surprised Xi3, to the extent that the company's CEO has prepared a statement reaffirming Valve's involvement.

"Second, we were asked to build a product specifically for Valve, and both companies showcased this product - the Piston Console - in their respective booths at CES 2013."

Sullivan went on to describe the differences between Xi3's Piston and Valve's forthcoming, Linux-based Steam Box, pointing out that Piston will ship with Windows and that Steam will not be a mandatory platform for the device. He also revealed that Valve and Xi3 agreed at a meeting at CES not to disclose any further information regarding the relationship.

Sullivan closed his statement with the following words: "So Gabe, it's up to you. The ball is in your court." Game on?

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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.