There's nothing like starting a new work week with a good old-fashioned "we aren't going to identify our sources" rumor. In this case, the "rumor" is buried in a Gamesindustry.biz newsletter that's reprinted at Eurogamer. The editorial talks about digital game distribution and how it may (or may not) take over from the brick-and-mortar game distribution business.

It's all stuff that has been hashed out before, but then the writer states near the end of the editorial, "However, it's also worth watching closely what happens to Steam in the coming months. Unconfirmed industry scuttlebutt suggests that Zenimax - the parent company of Bethesda, which made headlines back in June when it acquired legendary PC studio id Software - is still on the acquisition trail, and has been making eyes at Half-Life creators Valve across the bar. "

Um.....ok.

This is what's known in journalism as "burying the lead." Of course the writer doesn't go into any more details (where he heard this news and when) but news about any move by any company to buy out Valve, arguably one of the most influential game developers in the industry, should be front and center instead of near the end. Naturally we have emailed both Valve and Zenimax to get their official statements on this matter. Zenimax's PR head quickly emailed us back saying they did not wish to comment.

[Via Blue's News]