Update:

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has commented on the layoffs, issuing the following statement to Engadget

"We don't usually talk about personnel matters for a number of reasons. There seems to be an unusual amount of speculation about some recent changes here, so I thought I'd take the unusual step of addressing them. No, we aren't canceling any projects. No, we aren't changing any priorities or projects we've been discussing. No, this isn't about Steam or Linux or hardware or [insert game name here]. We're not going to discuss why anyone in particular is or isn't working here."

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A number of employees have been laid off at Valve. News first broke via the Twitter account of engineer Jeri Ellsworth, who wrote “yup. Got fired today. Time for new exciting projects.”According to a report from Gamasutra , Ellsworth is one of several employees let go today as part of a “great cleansing” and “large decisions” within the company, and the layoffs were based on changes in the company rather than performance issues.As many as 25 may have been affected, but the exact number remains uncertain. The layoffs are said to have hit multiple departments including hardware and Android development.In addition to the layoffs reported above, Develop reports that Valve director of business Jason Holtman has departed the company.)We’ve reached out to Valve for confirmation and clarification about the layoffs and will update this story with any comment we receive. IGN wishes the best of luck to anyone affected.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.