Valve, VR and the headset
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I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets.
The Valve Index, Valve’s latest virtual reality offering, is an uneasy mixture of all the good and bad aspects of modern VR. It can be a pain to set up; getting the whole thing calibrated perfectly can take hours. And then you might have to start over ...
Now, after years of rumors, Valve is finally ready to officially rejoin the VR hardware race. The Steam Frame, set to launch in early 2026, will run both VR and traditional Steam games locally through SteamOS or stream them wirelessly from a local PC.
Where does virtual reality go next? Right now there seem to be two paths: portable and self-contained headsets like the Oculus Quest or those connected to computers and consoles like the Rift and PlayStation VR. Valve is clearly betting on the second way ...
From being a first-rate developer of contemporary gaming classics like Half-Life and Dota to establishing the industry’s biggest PC gaming storefront in Steam, Valve’s evolution has been jaw-dropping. After spending the last decade attempting to carve ...