Home Gaming Valve is reportedly working on their own VR headset, and might launch Half-Life with it

Valve is reportedly working on their own VR headset, and might launch Half-Life with it

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Valve might be working on their own VR headset

Valve is no stranger to the virtual reality business, having worked with hardware partner HTC on the HTC Vive. The Vive was the first room-scale solution to VR, and proved popular enough that Facebook owned Oculus adjusted the design of their Rift to match it. But the Vive has been much more expensive too, not remedied at all by the recent Vive Pro release that increases resolution at a massive cost. Valve and HTC aren’t working together on a successor though, and that’s even more evident by rumours that Valve is going at it alone from now on.

Leaks of Valve’s VR prototype have surfaced (thanks to UploadVR), which show production on a familiar looking device that dates back to July of this year. The headset features the same sort of material for comfort that is currently used on Valve’s “Knuckles” VR motion controller, which has just had its third version ship out to developers. The headset also features two front-facing cameras similar to the Vive, as well as hidden motion tracking sensors underneath the hood in the same way the Oculus employs it on the Rift.

The report suggests the resolution isn’t drastically changing, with Valve’s attempt instead focusing on increasing the field of view to 135-degrees. UploadVR doesn’t state when we might see more about this project, or whether Valve is even still in the process of deciding if it’ll come to market. But they do state that Valve is planning a Half-Life prequel to launch with the device if it does, which is a rumour dating back to 2016. Valve has reportedly seen many pitches for a new Half-Life project, some of which have been VR exclusives. If Valve really is going to market with their own VR headwear, making a Half-Life game exclusive to it will certainly drive some sales.

But it might be a while until we see Valve actually talk about it. Their “Knuckles” controllers are a reality already, and make big improvements to the original Vive controllers that paled in comparison to the Rift. If Valve is iterating on that front, it’s not a stretch to assume they plan to have it working with a headset of their own in the near future.

Valve might be working on their own VR headset 2

Last Updated: November 13, 2018

8 Comments

  1. Kromas

    November 13, 2018 at 17:13

    And the best part is they won’t lock their system down like Oculus.

    Reply

    • Alessandro Barbosa

      November 13, 2018 at 19:22

      AFAIK Oculus eventually unlocked support for Steam VR titles

      Reply

      • Kromas

        November 14, 2018 at 06:41

        After massive backlash.

        Reply

  2. CodeDisQus

    November 13, 2018 at 23:31

    All we asked was for Half Life 3

    Reply

  3. Ghost In The Rift

    November 14, 2018 at 07:47

    My question though is if we get Valve VR Gen 1 and Gen 2, will there ever be a Gen 3?

    Reply

  4. Fox1

    November 14, 2018 at 09:06

    It’s not April 1st.

    Reply

  5. Kikmi

    November 14, 2018 at 09:18

    From a games developer to an etailer, this is just pathetic. Something the community has been asking for (ok its not 3 but still its HL content) is going to be pay walled by a hardware device? More like PC MasterBATION race. UGH

    Reply

    • Mighty Meh

      November 14, 2018 at 13:18

      I actually don’t think it is a bad idea. Apart from the big price tag it might be the big push needed to get VR mainstream.

      It seems right up valves alley to go this route. Considering the expectations that have grown with time relating to a new half life title it was clear that it would have to be something truely groundbreaking for it to not disappoint long time fans.

      Just how everyone raged when half life 2 came out because they had to install some stupid game client called steam. People may complain now but come 5 years everyone will wonder what all the fuss is about.

      Higher demand = higher production = lower costs.

      Even if it fails spectacularly, if you didn’t buy in what have you lost? Would you choose to keep gaming stagnant for another 30 years just so valve doesn’t potentially release a bad game.

      Reply

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