Onward Developer Invited to Work in Valve Offices

Does this mean Valve is working on something new or just helping a new developer?

For those who don't know, Onward is a military simulator on Steam. It utilizes a VR headset to simulate the actions of a soldier.

It's a game that tried to accurately depict how a soldier does their work with the help of VR, using communication with other players and learning strategy to achieve their goals. It's also being developed by a single person Dante Buckley.

Buckley recently made a Steam blog post talking about his experience with game development and the community thus far. He explains how grateful he is to the community and how he's excited for things to come. Following that, he announces that Valve has invited him to work on his project Onward at their offices in January. 

It's unsure whether this is just a kind gesture on Valve's part or if they have a grander idea in mind. Could this mean Valve has plans for a new game in VR and is feeling out promising talent? Or is it simply Valve just helping a developer on their platform?