Earlier today, a rumor broke out like wildfire that Valve, the ever-intrepid studio of FPS games, was going to be bought by Google "any minute now." Yes, Google.

I was all "buh?" at the news, so I waited around a bit to see where that was going before I decided to share the news with you guys, and true enough, it really was just rumor.

The rumor from "well placed sources" who informed the UK tabloid The Inquirer of the "news." Since Google refused to comment on the rumor, the rumor was quick to spread. It didn't help that Valve said before that the company was open to talks of a buyout offer. However, Valve VP Doug Lombardi finally squashed the rumor.

So if you hear that Google suddenly decided to become a video game magnate, approach it with some skepticism. On the other hand, debunked rumors have been, well, debunked before. And while Google may not buy Valve, someone else might.

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