by Kyle Orland

Take down the streamers. Put away the noisemakers. Unqueue that copy of Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" you had loaded up and ready. Valve has confirmed to Joystiq that it will not be announcing any new products at next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

This isn't really a shocking turn of events for the company. Valve was a no-show at last year's E3, and used the 2010 event primarily to show off new footage of the previously announced Portal 2. The company's last major E3 reveal, 2009's unveiling of Left 4 Dead 2, almost immediately led to a substantial fan outcry that the company was rushing out a sequel before its time.

Still, the confirmation means fans' long wait for news on a new entry in the Half-Life series will continue for a little while longer at least, and that Valve is sticking to its policy of silence on the game, which it says is still going through a lot of developmental "twists and turns." It also means we shouldn't expect any official news on any of the many rumored hardware projects Valve seems to be hiring employees for.

That doesn't mean the show will be meaningless for Valve fans, though. The company will reportedly be presenting announced products like DOTA 2, Counterstrike: GO and Steam's upcoming, living-room-focused Big Picture Mode. And there's always a chance Valve could "pull a David Jaffe" with a surprise announcement of a game it swore it wouldn't be announcing (as Jaffe did with Twisted Metal in 2010). We wouldn't hold our breath, though...