Rumored Launch of Valve Deckard This Year Priced at $1200

A source known for sharing leaks about Valve’s projects has claimed that the company plans to release a new VR headset, called the Valve Deckard, by the end of this year. The expected price for this standalone, wireless headset is $1200, which may also include some first-party games or demos. This information comes from a leaker named Gabe Follower, who has accurately predicted details about other Valve projects, such as Counter-Strike 2 and Deadlock.

According to Gabe Follower’s social media post, several people have confirmed that the Deckard headset will run on SteamOS and is expected to hit the market soon. The $1200 price tag might be a loss for Valve, indicating that the company is committed to incorporating high-quality components and features into this new product.

In addition, models for the Deckard’s controllers, codenamed “Roy,” have already been found in SteamVR driver files. These models suggest that the controllers will have bumpers and a D-pad, providing the capability for them to work as a gamepad for regular screen gaming. Gabe Follower mentioned that this functionality is a key feature of the Deckard, allowing it to run games independently without needing a computer.

Interestingly, the name “Roy” likely references the antagonist from the movie Blade Runner, in which Deckard is the main character. Even before the details about the controllers came to light, it was already known that Valve was developing a new headset. The company has publicly acknowledged its efforts on multiple occasions over the last three years.

In December 2021, Valve President Gabe Newell stated that the company was investing significantly in creating new headsets, just over a year after releasing the Index. A year later, in October 2022, Valve advertised a job for a computer vision engineer to assist in creating a VR headset designed for a global audience. This job posting mentioned various advanced features such as inside-out tracking, camera passthrough, understanding the environment, eye tracking, and hand tracking.

In December 2022, Valve’s product designer Greg Coomer mentioned in an interview with a Korean gaming news outlet that there were multiple projects related to a new VR headset underway in the company. More recently, in November 2023, Valve hinted in an interview about their future VR plans that the new headset would prioritize wireless VR streaming from a PC, which had already been suggested through data mining.

The current VR headset, the Index, will reach its sixth anniversary in June, and its market share on SteamVR has been declining since the Quest 3 was released. Many fans of Valve are eagerly waiting for a successor, and there is hope within the industry that the Deckard will serve as a standalone competitor to the Quest 3. However, it remains to be seen whether the Deckard will focus on standalone VR experiences or if it will primarily provide wireless streaming from a PC.

As we move forward, we will keep an eye on the Valve leaker community and monitor the company’s updates for any further developments regarding the potential launch of the Deckard headset in 2025.