Valve is a company known for its mystery. Whether it is in the field of games or Steam Deck hardware, it rarely discloses its development plans. However, a recent update to the Steam client hints that the company is secretly working on a long-awaited standalone VR headset.
Technical analyst and Steam data mining expert Brad Lynch discovered that the latest update to the Steam client contains some VR-specific strings related to batteries, which seems to support rumors that Valve is currently preparing the platform for some kind of standalone VR glasses.
The update also mentions that some new UI elements, icons, and animations have been added to the VR portion of the Steam client, which should not be for competing glasses.
At the same time, South Korea’s National Radio Research Agency (RAA) also recently certified a “low-power wireless device” from Valve. It’s unclear whether the device is actually a standalone VR goggle, as the radio certification only mentions its use of the 5 GHz wireless band.
Valve has not yet publicly announced that it is developing standalone VR glasses, but amid increasingly fierce competition between Apple and Meta, the company is likely to launch a “standalone Index” in 2024. Valve Index is widely regarded as the best pair of glasses for PC VR, boasting excellent quality, performance and comfort.
In early 2022, Valve boss Gabe Newell called the Steam Deck handheld console “a stepping stone to standalone VR hardware” and said that the Steam Deck represents “a battery-capable, high-performance device that can be used for VR applications.” .
