Rumor: Valve is working on a standalone VR headset – Gaming – News

Valve is secretly taking steps in the hardware though. The steam machines have never really become anything but I am still a very satisfied user of the Steam controller and Steam Link and with the index they just went for the no-compromise PC VR experience and that is still after 2 years or so the top of the line. Too expensive for me at the time, but there isn’t that much hardware that is still best in class two years after release.

With the Steamdeck, Valve finally seems to be able to run their entire Steam inventory on Linux in what’s also a good looking handheld device. All reports about how they, together with AMD and other partners, are removing the latest roadblocks (anti-cheat software) and approaching driver optimization is very hopeful. Especially now that Valve, AMD and developers can focus on a fixed configuration as opposed to earlier Linux gaming (steam machines) attempts.

The experiences with AMD and Proton on the Steamdeck could indeed just land in a stand-alone headset. However, my feeling would still be that stand alone will be limited to things like virtual Desktop, watching movies in VR, access to the Steam store and some low-threshold games either ported from the quest or tailor-made for, for example, some gaming in the living room (things like keep talking and nobody explodes eg) or beatsaber etc. The most important thing about having a chip on board is rather helping to deliver the smoothest possible wireless experience with tracking. Previous patents also seem to indicate this by using the on-board chip for gimmicks to make the experience more fluid (such as Oculus’ spacewarp).

I just don’t think we’ll get an announcement until the Steamdeck is well and truly launched. Their focus in the coming six months is clearly on optimizing that experience and getting the units out the door. The first index is still fine for those who have it and despite the fact that Oculus sells a lot more units with its lower price, I have the impression that Valve’s market share in VR games is fine and only benefits from good sales figures from the quest.

[Reactie gewijzigd door Rhaegar1 op 30 september 2021 11:28]

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