Valve Teases Homegrown ‘Index’ VR Headset, May Launch Confirmed

Years ago many expected virtual reality (VR) headsets and games to have a much bigger following than they do today. Adoption has been rather slow on the VR front for gamers; businesses users have found more use for VR headsets in many instances. To that business end, HTC announced its Vive Focus aimed at enterprise use that will launch April 15 priced at $799.

Valve has now started teasing a new VR headset that is called the Valve Index. It's a bit odd to see a new headset being teased only a few weeks after Valve laid off 13 people in its VR division. Valve did state at the time that it wasn't vacating the VR market and with the tease for the Index, that is clear.

The official launch for the Valve Index is sometime in May 2019 according to the Steam store teaser page. We can't glean much from the teaser image other than the headset has a pair of cameras on it and appears to have adjustable lenses for customization for users. Upload VR reports that sources have told it that the Index would have a wider field of view and resolution around the same as the HTC Vive Pro, which rocks 1440x1600 per eye.

The exact hardware inside the Valve Index is a mystery at this point. Speculation suggests that Index will use outside-in tracking via SteamVR. With the launch only a bit more than a month away, we expect to hear more details soon.