Bellevue-based Valve has acquired Star Filled Studios, a two-man development team founded by ex-PopCap and Blizzard employees Jeff Gates and Tod Semple.
ValveTime picked up on this via Semple’s LinkedIn profile, which states that his “recent startup” was acquired by Valve and “we are opening a new office on the San Francisco peninsula.”
But that doesn’t quite mean Valve is opening up shop in the Bay Area. Joystiq reached out to Valve and the company responded, saying that “this is better categorized as Valve hiring two new employees instead of an acquisition of a company or opening of a Valve SF office.”
Semple and Gates founded Star Filled Studios in October. Both have worked on games like Diablo 3 and Plants vs. Zombies. Joystiq notes the parallels between this deal and Valve’s 2008 acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios, when the company bought the developer and finished Left 4 Dead development on its own.
Previously on GeekWire: Gabe Newell: Valve to build a gaming PC for the living room
