Numerous indications have suggested that Valve has been quietly developing a new VR headset for some time, and the company’s most recent patent—for a VR controller—supports these notions. The Valve Index and Steam Deck, which cater to the handheld and virtual reality gaming markets, respectively, are two of the business behind Steam’s most prominent hardware projects.
On its own, it’s not all that surprising that Valve would continue to focus on advancing the virtual reality scene. After all, the most recent Half-Life game was a highly regarded VR exclusive, and the business has demonstrated a propensity for looking ahead and utilizing cutting-edge technology to produce excellent products. Therefore, it’s new patent fits into this industry’s current manufacturing pattern.
The description of a “electronic controller with [a] linear hand strap adjuster” in Valve’s patent focuses mainly on the intricacies of the featured strap design. The entire mechanism is depicted in the annex drawing, which may be the first visual representation of a brand-new valve controller to date. The design is most notable for having a ring of lights mounted to the controller for tracking purposes, which immediately makes one think of the Oculus controllers that are currently in use. Nothing in the patent suggests a connection to the rumored Deckard VR headset from Valve, but it’s likely that the two projects are connected.
The success of Steam Deck appears to have given Valve more confidence in its hardware endeavors. Although the firm has released some gear in the past, such as the Steam Controller, none of them has been as popular as the Deck. For instance, in the case of Valve Index, the problem was probably that the full package costs around $1,000, making it unaffordable for the majority of casual VR gamers.
While Valve’s hardware businesses have made progress, it’s also important to note that the company reportedly has a number of titles under development. It is unknown at this time if any of these will be high-profile AAA-level games like Half-Life: Alyx, but it appears almost guaranteed that the corporation will rely on its VR investments in the future. If Valve intends to release these games shortly, more information about all of them should be available soon, but only time will tell how things may turn out.
