Report: Valve acquires US dev Star Filled Studios

Valve has acquired a new two-man studio based in San Francisco headed by ex-PopCap and Blizzard employees, according to a report.

As spotted by Valve Time, studio founder and former PopCap developer Tod Semple’s LinkedIn profile states that Star Filled Studios was formed in September this year, and was later “acquired by Valve”.

Semple’s profile also states that he and Star Filled co-founder Jeff Gates are now in the process of opening a new Valve office on the San Francisco peninsula.

Ex-PopCap senior game developer Gates’ LinkedIn profile also notes that he is now a programmer for Valve, based in the San Francisco Bay area.

The Star Filled Studios website states that the industry veterans are opening a small office, with the plan to use small teams to develop games. The studio will focus on titles for iPhone, Steam and “many different platforms”.

“We are long time game industry veterans that will soon be opening a small office,” reads a statement on the website.

“We believe a small talented team can make awesome games, just like when we made Plants vs. Zombies. We work healthy hours and play lots of board games and video games. Our games are made to be playable by everyone and available on iPhone, Steam and many different platforms."

Develop has contacted Valve and Star Filled Studios for further information.