If you happen to’ve been plugged into the Valve leak-o-verse, you’ve most likely come throughout the identify ‘Deckard’, the supposed code identify of a standalone headset allegedly beneath improvement by the one and solely. Whereas Valve isn’t confirming something concerning the storied standalone, the corporate went on file late final 12 months to say they’re nonetheless place confidence in VR, and are critically nonetheless engaged on VR headsets.
Valve product designer Greg Coomer spoke to Korean gaming publication That is Recreation (Korean) in December, saying that VR could be very a lot nonetheless within the works. The interview wasn’t extensively shared within the English-speaking aspect of the Web till it landed on Reddit, Google-translated to English.
Right here’s Coomer’s response to a query about what he can reveal in regard to VR, translated from Korean to English:
There isn’t a lot (laughter). However, I can positively say that we’re persevering with to develop VR headsets not too long ago. Valve has loads of experience in VR units and has religion within the medium and VR video games.
We hope to stay open on PC platforms slightly than having VR video games completely on a sure platform. Whereas adhering to this perception, we’re persevering with improvement.
Nevertheless, we can’t affirm the existence of particular merchandise or disclose the discharge date of the outcomes. The identical applies to recreation tasks being developed internally. There are actually many tasks underway, however we can’t announce something right now.
As you would possibly collect, Valve doesn’t overtly talk about its in-development tasks. Listening to that VR remains to be on the desk from Coomer instantly although, who has been with Valve because the launch of Half-Life (1998), and labored on main video games all the way in which as much as Half-Life: Alyx (2020), is nearly nearly as good as you will get.
That’s particularly so because the final time Valve launched any VR {hardware} was its enthusiast-grade PC VR headset Valve Index in 2019. A 12 months later, the studio launched its solely full-length VR recreation to this point, Half-Life: Alyx.
Nonetheless, it hasn’t been completely all quiet on the Valve VR entrance. In March 2022, Valve chief Gabe Newell known as its handheld gaming PC platform Steam Deck “a steppingstone” to standalone VR {hardware}.
“One of many issues [Steam Deck] represents is battery-capable, high-performance horsepower that ultimately you could possibly use in VR functions as properly. You possibly can take the PC and construct one thing that’s way more transportable. We’re probably not there but, however it is a stepping stone.”
On the time, Coomer additionally famous Steam Deck’s {hardware} “would run properly in that [standalone VR] setting, with the TDP mandatory… it’s very related to us and our future plans.”
In the meantime, tech analyst and YouTuber Brad Lynch has been most likely essentially the most vocal proponent of all issues Steam standalone, having adopted the Deckard beat since knowledge miners first discovered a string in a January 2021 Steam replace that talked about the alleged VR standalone.
Over the next years, Lynch has uncovered mounting proof in subsequent releases of SteamVR, together with his most up-to-date supposition that Deckard could embody PC VR wi-fi streaming capabilities, eye-tracking, and passthrough AR options.
As you’d think about, there have been no public confirmations from Valve, so we’ll simply have to attend and see.