I don't doubt valve is cliquey. It's human nature to form groups in an environment with no "perceived" superiors and leaders. I'm worried that valve is squandering their resources by trying to be business model revolutionaries and doing too much instead of just focusing on making quality games.
On the other hand maybe the renewed interest in virtual reality is just a returning novelty and they felt it was not really worth the effort, Personally I don't think it will become a standard. I know it can be upsetting to have a project you've poured your heart into canned but accepting it and moving on is all apart of being a professional. At least she got to keep the tech she worked on.
TheMagicFro's comments