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.

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.

In a statement provided to Kotaku, Xi3 founder and CEO Jason A. Sullivan detailed the extent to which Valve is involved. "We reaffirm the fact that we received an investment from Valve Corporation (as we previously disclosed during the 2013 International CES trade show), and we did so with Valve's written permission," the statement read.

"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?