Gates and Semple leave Valve

Jeff Gates and Tod Semple have left Valve just eight months after it acquired their company. The pair will launch a new studio, Temple Gates Games.

"We were big fans of their prior work. We worked with them during their start-up phase, but they're independent now and still working on their game. We wish them the best of luck," Valve told IGN.

Gates and Semple joined Valve in December when it snapped up Star Filled Studios.Their track record includes work at LucasArts, Blizzard North, Maxis and PopCap, where Semple was the programmer for Plants vs. Zombies.

"Jeff [Gates] and I are working on indie games again," added Semple.

"We were working for Valve in a remote office in San Mateo. It turned out that there weren't many benefits for either side in that arrangement. Valve was super cool about it and is letting us continue to work on our game and is also giving us the office. So Jeff and I are starting up a new company called Temple Gates Games."

It's still not clear what Star Filled Studios was working on either when the pair joined Valve or since.