I thought there were plenty already. There usually are for any anticipated movie or game.

HL2 EP3 in Q3 2011
they will show us an RPG

:P
I personally think that they're using Steam as such a financial crutch they're not even fussed about games development deadlines anymore.

I'm not following the steam forums, anyone here is? This e-mail is the beginning of an ARG or not?
Yeah, I would have said that but didn't, I focused more on Valve as a game developer.
What they really are about now is Steam, and nothing more. Their games are just something to support steam and move it forward, you can notice it will all the Mac support buzz, the TF2 (mac coming soon tag), mp zombie games one year after the other, portal 1 and 2, a DotA game tied to steam coming, etc... in these little things you see where their attention is really at...
and how they influence people to keep buying more and more, by grinding, to get achievements on whatever title they(steam+dev) decide to implement those. Lots of people care about achievements, you guys have seen this suggestion in this same forum.
I did said somewhere that they'd add achievements and the new engine when they reached the Linux platform, to prepare all the Linux gamers with HL2 before releasing Ep3... but they did this sooner than I expected, with the Mac platform.

You sort of forgot the new maps, new weapons, and even new gametypes that came with TF2's achievements.
And they are making a bunch of games for their digital distribution platform: So there attention is on making games? :p
All Valve have done is what all the devs used to do. Epic or id would implement some really cool stuff for their engines that other devs could then license.
Everything Valve has put in Steam has been stuff they themselves use.
Achievements: See TF2 and Portal
Cloud Saves/Settings: See Ep2 and Portal :p
Mac Support: Notice how Portal was the flagship title for that.
The web browser, server browser, and in-game chat/buddy system: Can't imagine what they used those for.
You can EASILY argue that Valve have shifted their emphasis toward multiplayer gaming. Everyone has, and clearly Valve have had a large focus on TF2 and LFD(2). But so what?
Either way though, everything that is a part of Steam (except for all the billing issues :p) have just been the traditional "I made something. You scratch my back, and you won't have to make it yourself"

And what you do with those? You keep playing only TF2 and forget about all the other games coming out, your focus is to stay playing Valve games on Valve's platform.
If you paid attention to the core idea, and not only about the written word here... you'd understand it.
Their attention is on making games, yes, MP games which support and expand the user base of their digital distribution service.
Stuff which they develop for their games, and only to PROMOTE the games which have that stuff. Have you heard of the talking, about the death of indie games which don't have steam achievements there?
PS: I don't want to get lynched here by TF2 players/whatever game, I really like Valve games and they are of exceptional quality. I just said that you need to see where they focus is at, in these few last years. And I am too, pissed about the Ep3 situation.

So basically, they are only making games to promote the content of their games? :p
I am not understanding this. Was UT (the good one :p) only made to promote the Unreal Engine?
Was 2k4 just a tech demo?
Was Half-life 2 a tech demo for the Source engine?

This is why I didn't talked about it before (but since Navagon said it then I did said too)... because people mix up the valve as game developer vs. valve as steam's owner.
And don't recognize that the game developer part is working MOSTLY to support and push forward the steam's owner part, the cash cow.

Steam forums? I don't know. Who's stupid enough to be a regular there? Where's JakobNZ when you finally actually need him?
Ah, but much to the company's detriment, there is no separating the two.
Indeed you can. They're tailoring their games to support the platform, rather than tailoring the platform to support games. As for achievements, I've got nothing against them if they're implemented well. It's just that they can be off putting when so many people seem addicted to them/gamerscores.

Yeah, guess you and me are the minority that are don't care if a game has them or not.
I've seen some posts here, of people asking for achievements and a client for GOG... and these posts will increase as time passes by.

My bet is that the surprise is a new IP with Icefrog as the lead designer. :)

I would go further than that I would say Valve are actually frightened about showing EP3 now because historically sequels that have been in development this long are always a disappointment because hype has overtaken expectations. No matter how good EP3 actually is some people will be let down because its not as good as they thought it was going to be.

That's partly why I'm thinking that it would be more likely to be Half Life 3. Valve have already effectively stated that it's far too much to deal with in another episodic chunk. Therefore it would be disappointing if it was another 4 hour-ish episode.Not just because of the hype, but because that simply wouldn't be enough to tie it all up. But more likely again would be a new IP.

Then yes, the parts of Valve that work on Steam are obviously interested in pushing Steam. And the parts of Valve that work on games are obviously interested in pushing games.
And honestly, where are your thoughts coming from? Steam is a great source of income, no doubt about that. But it is just a byproduct, and a way to implement said features in the games.