We've known for quite some time now that Valve has been making its own virtual reality (VR) headset. According to some reports, the team was working on its own device since before the Oculus Rift took off. Valve has also been publicly testing the controllers for this headset for two years now.
Last week, the company posted an image of the "Valve Index." We only got a side view of the headset, but the company promised that more information would be revealed in May. The tag line is "upgrade your experience," so we'll have to wait until May to see if that's actually true. There's a lot of competition right now in the VR space with HTC and Oculus refreshing their products. The Valve Index needs to blow the competitors out of the water.
The Valve Index appears to have two cameras in the front, and some type of adjuster at the bottom. It's unclear what the additional button on the right of the image is used for. It could be used to either reset the device or power it on. We'll keep you posted as soon as we know more.
Until this point, Valve has relied on other VR platforms to promote SteamVR. This gives it an unprecedented opportunity to solidify its position in the market. However, the battle begins with specifications and price. If the device is too expensive, it won't be adopted by the majority of players who want to experience VR, but are concerned about the high entry point.
