Bellevue, Washington-based game developer and publisher Valve gave a sneak peek of its upcoming virtual reality headset earlier this week. Known for running the Steam game distribution platform and creating popular games like Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Portal, and Dota 2, Valve posted an image of an upcoming VR headset called Valve Index on its website last week.
Valve’s website does not reveal anything about the hardware built into the Valve Index. The image simply features a preview of the Valve Index’s design with a tagline that says “Upgrade your experience.”
Valve has been working on virtual reality projects for several years now. For example, Valve partnered with Taiwanese electronics company HTC to develop the HTC Vive headsets. Plus Valve built lighthouse sensors for powering the Vive headsets. And Valve also developed an unreleased set of VR controllers called SteamVR Knuckles.
By launching a VR headset, Valve will be competing against HTC and Facebook’s Oculus VR subsidiary. Oculus VR recently announced a new $399 VR headset called the Oculus Rift S. Sony also sells a VR headset called the PlayStation VR, which is powered by the PlayStation 4 console.
Some of the other VR headsets on the market include the Samsung Gear VR and Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream. Microsoft sells a mixed reality headset called the HoloLens 2, but it is priced at $3,500 and appears to be intended to help people who work in medical, manufacturing, military, design, etc. perform tasks.
CNET reached out to Valve to find out more. But a Valve spokesman said, “We will have more info soon.”
