Alyx Turns Five: What’s Next for Valve in the VR World?

Five years have passed since Half-Life: Alyx revolutionized virtual reality gaming, and Valve continues to be a subtle yet impactful player in the VR world. Although not always making headlines, Valve has significantly influenced the industry with steady updates to SteamVR, collaborations with standalone headsets like Quest, and furtive hints about upcoming hardware and games. As we mark Alyx’s fifth anniversary, the looming question remains: Is Valve still committed to VR, or has the tech giant pulled back from the frontier it once helped pioneer? Let’s dive into what we currently know.

It seems time has flown by, with Half-Life: Alyx already celebrating five years, though to some of us, it feels like it was just two or three years ago. The pandemic almost delayed the game’s launch, which kicked off in March 2020, just as the U.S. rolled out stay-at-home orders to curb COVID-19. Overnight, businesses faced disruptions, and those that could, scrambled to adapt to remote operations without missing a beat.

Among those affected was Valve Software, responsible for developing Half-Life: Alyx. According to the company, if lockdowns had begun weeks earlier, the game’s release might have been jeopardized. They even had to abandon their only press preview event for the game due to the pandemic but managed to release it on time, on March 23.

Half-Life: Alyx has been celebrated not only as an outstanding VR and Half-Life game, but also as one of the top video games ever. Today, it proudly holds the 24th position on Steam250’s list of top-rated games across Steam.

Valve’s contributions go beyond Alyx. Their Index VR headset has long been a top choice for PC VR, and their comprehensive VR support through Steam has been crucial for the industry over the past five years.

Despite its influence, Valve has been unusually quiet about its future plans for VR in recent years. Major announcements, such as a new VR game or headset, have been notably absent. So, what’s Valve’s current role in VR? Here’s where things stand.

### What’s Next for Valve in VR

SteamVR remains the leading platform in PC VR, thanks to Valve’s consistent yet incremental improvements. At the end of 2023, the company made a significant move by launching the Steam Link app for Quest headsets, allowing Quest users to play SteamVR games wirelessly.

It appears Valve intends to expand Steam Link further. Datamining has suggested they’re preparing to make Steam Link available on new headsets, including the Vive Focus from HTC and Pico headsets from Bytedance.

Valve seems determined to enhance wireless PC VR for standalone headsets. Indications from recent software files hint at work on a “SteamVR Link Dongle,” supposedly a USB device designed to establish a direct wireless link between a user’s PC and headset.

Currently, using Steam Link entails connecting your headset to a router, then linking that router to your PC. While this works well for those near the router, it can lead to quality issues such as stuttering or pixelation for those with weaker wireless setups or for users aiming for the highest bandwidth quality.

The anticipated SteamVR Link Dongle could streamline this by creating a direct connection between the PC and headset, eliminating the router and potentially improving performance. Datamining indicates the dongle may utilize Wi-Fi 6E.

There’s some uncertainty whether the SteamVR Link Dongle will support third-party headsets like Quest or if it is exclusively for Valve’s rumored ‘Deckard’ headset.

### Valve’s Next VR Headset

Following the Index’s 2019 release, hints of a new Valve VR headset emerged through patents filed in 2020. These patents revealed concepts for a standalone headset and ergonomic designs.

While no official announcement has confirmed a new headset, ongoing leaks and datamining suggest Valve is steadily working on one, albeit on its own schedule known informally as Valve Time™.

Earlier this year, keen-eyed dataminers noticed a 3D model of what seemed to be new VR controllers in SteamVR files, believed to be for Valve’s next headset. These controllers put to rest fears that Valve had abandoned VR hardware altogether and suggested they may impact how the new headset is marketed.

Valve’s supposed ‘Deckard’ headset, potentially branded as ‘Index 2,’ is thought to be a standalone device primarily designed for streaming from a SteamVR-equipped PC, akin to the current usage of Quest headsets with Steam Link.

The design of the Deckard controllers, with a classic layout—D-pad on the left and four buttons on the right—suggests Valve might cater to both VR and flatscreen gaming on a massive virtual screen.

SteamVR already allows flat gaming on virtual screens, but the lack of standard gamepad layout in VR controllers can complicate transitioning between VR and flatscreen games. If Deckard controllers adopt a gamepad layout, switching between game formats could become seamless.

More insights came from a notable leaker, hinting at a 2025 launch with a price of $1,200 for Valve’s next headset. Although we cannot confirm this, there’s some supportive evidence backing this claim.

Renowned dataminer Brad Lynch identified fresh references to “Deckard EV2” in the latest release of SteamVR. This alludes to advancements from the initial “Engineering Validation” phase, inching closer to production. Historical trends show devices like the Steam Deck OLED reaching EV2 just before hitting production. Lynch maintains high confidence that Valve will unveil the headset this year.

### Valve’s Next VR Game

Half-Life: Alyx launched to universal praise in early 2020. To this day, it stands as one of the most comprehensive VR titles developed. However, whether Valve found the game’s sales performance satisfactory compared to its development investment remains uncertain.

Whether Valve will engage in another VR project of Alyx’s caliber is still in question, but we have some insights.

A familiar Valve leaker recently suggested that the company has or almost has games or demos “ready to ship,” specifically for Deckard.

This insight aligns with details from Tyler McVicker, a seasoned Valve dataminer who previously revealed significant details about Half-Life: Alyx before its release.

In recent years, McVicker found indications of Valve crafting another VR game in tandem with the Deckard headset. While Valve has numerous intellectual properties to pull from, McVicker anticipates the next VR game will continue the Half-Life saga—or involve two simultaneous entries.

McVicker envisions a cooperative game where a PC player controls Gordon Freeman while a VR player experiences Alyx Vance’s story, creating coordinated gameplay moments.

Perhaps Valve intends this as a unified experience leveraging its latest hardware offerings: Steam Deck and Deckard?

When asked, Valve remains reticent about its VR endeavors. Upon inquiring about any forthcoming VR plans on Alyx’s anniversary, a Valve representative responded, “We don’t have anything new to share right now but […] we’ve really enjoyed seeing all the cool experiences that folks have created and uploaded to the Half-Life: Alyx Workshop.”

### Valve is Unlike Almost Any Other Company

Understanding Valve’s singular organizational structure sets the context for our discussion. Unlike many companies, Valve operates with a flat management style, granting employees far more control over what the company develops.

According to Valve’s Employee Handbook, it’s up to the individual employees to choose their projects and rally others to join them. If someone wants to pursue a project but cannot inspire participation, it simply won’t progress.

However, when a project takes off, it’s driven by a team invested in its success. Valve’s ability to harness world-class talent explains why it outperforms expectations despite a smaller workforce than industry counterparts.

While new headsets or VR games aren’t rolling out yearly, the constant improvements to SteamVR—and the occasional signs of something new—indicate there are dedicated individuals at Valve still betting on the VR stage.