Just the other day, we posted a news piece on how German site Golem.de was in attendance when Valve engineer Ben Krasnov claimed that the company's "Steambox" will use Linux and an announcement is scheduled within the year.
Apparently, something got lost in translation, as Krasnov is now refuting that and adds that Steambox — or one of its many versions — might be Linux-based or it might not.
In a statement released to EnGadget, Krasnov states, "With regards to the Steambox news — there has been a lot of things stated in the media which I didn't say. For example, it's true that we are working on getting Steam into the living room, and are planning for a hardware box, but we have no current plans to announce anything in 2013."
While he does admit that they're currently beta-testing Left for Dead 2 on Linux, that doesn't mean Steambox only using Linux is a sure deal. Furthermore, Krasnov adds that they're also working on virtual and augmented reality hardware and "other hardware projects that have not been disclosed yet but probably will in 2013."
What's interesting here is even with Krasnov's statement, we now know the Steambox exists — albeit, in a prototype fashion. Also, Valve's Marketing Director Doug Lombardi claims that they'll be sharing more info regarding their living room gaming platform in the coming months, so in a way, they will announce something in 2013.
Regardless of what's been said, 2013 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting times in gaming in a very long time.