Valve Formally Reveals Their VR Headset

Valve Reveals VR Headset

For well over a year now, there have been rumours floating around that Valve was working on a VR headset of their own to compete with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Over recent months, however, many were starting to wonder whether this would really happen or not.

Earlier this year, for example, it had been revealed how Valve was cutting back in their VR department. A move that many considered to potentially be a ‘step back’ in their development. It seems, however, that this may have simply been a case of job done!

In a report via Eurogamer, Valve has formally revealed their brand new VR gaming headset with pre-orders starting today.

Specification

The Valve Index features a dual 1440×1600 RGB LCD display and, when compared to its rivals, offers “greater sharpness for the same rendering cost”.

It will run at 120hz (with backwards compatibility) and will also offer around a 20 degree larger vision scope than the HTC Vive. On the whole, it’s sounding like a pretty decent VR headset. There is, however, one major stumbling block…

When Is It Out & How Much Will It Cost?

The Valve Index is currently open for pre-order with a release date expected in June this year. There is, however, a bit of a catch. Namely, the price.

The headset will retail for around £919 (circa $999). In VR headset terms, this prices it at nearly 3 times the price of the Oculus Rift and around double the HTC Vive.

Although both those headsets have sold well, a major issue both have suffered from is the price point making it just a little too far for most consumers. As such, for a near £1000 price tag, while these will undoubtedly sell, I can’t help but suspect that this price is going to have to drop pretty quickly for this to be a success.

For more information, you can visit the official product website via the link here!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!