The PCVR world has many advantages : often more impressive experiences as well as the possibility (via the mods) to (re)discover strong licenses through the immersion of virtual reality. However, to benefit from it, you must not only have the means, but also know how to properly master the IT tool.which immediately excludes a good number of players, who will choose to opt for standalone headsets (Meta Quest 2, Pico 4) or connected to a game console (PSVR 2). And if Valve had found the solution?
On PlayStation VR 2, VR ports of successful games (the famous triple A) can be counted on the fingers of one handenraging those who were hoping to get a PCVR experience with the simplicity of a console. The latter could, if the rumor comes true, turn to Valvewhich is said to offer its own solution: a PCVR console.
Brad Lynch (SadlyItsBradley)famous YouTuber specializing in VR, discovered many clues about the wireless VR headsetL Deckard of Valve. According to him, the firm plans to release a PCVR console to run it. Of course, to support his words, the latter is based (among other things) on patents as well as on drivers mentioning a mysterious device called Galileo.
For lovers of detail, the Steam Deck bore, during its development, the code name Jupiter. Her COULD (mobile chip integrating the processor and the graphics part) Van Gogh had the code name: Aerith. Not long ago, the news site Linux Phoronix noticed that a new device responded to the name of Galileoand that this would be associated with a new COULDcodenamed Sephiroth. This discovery notably took place by analyzing sound drivers Linux. One thing is certain, something is brewing on the side of Valve.
Last February, it was the dataminer Razzbow who discovers the name of Galileo EV2 in the firmware from the Steam Deck. EV for Engineering Validationthe stage which precedes that of mass production. The device would have a proximity sensor and a small touch screen. If we can think of one Steam Deck 2, Valve recently stated that this would not happen for several years. Everything suggests that this is indeed the company’s new PCVR console.
Moreover, a four-year-old photo (taken in the premises of Valve), available in the book The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx of Geoff Keighleyshows an unknown device resembling a console. Chance doing things well, the specificities of the machine described above can be found in the said image!
Brad Lynch and his team of dataminers have searchedfor 2 years now, evidence that would indicate a preview of Valve’s future VR plans, here is an anthology:
- First discovery, that of a headset (the Deckard) supporting the wireless function VRLinkallowing to streamer VR content directly from one device to another (without using local WiFi). This finding is important: no PC has this technology, which suggests that Valve works on a full-fledged machine.
- Second discovery, the firm created on its platform Steam a new game collection featuring VR gamesthe company had done the same shortly before the release of Valve Index, which suggests an imminent announcement.
- Third discovery, this time on SteamOSa screen sharing function as well as the possibility of updating the firmware a remote headset would be in the pipeline, which would attest that said PCVR console would operate under the proprietary environment of Valve.
- Fourth discovery, in a company patent, a device similar to what we saw in the photo is indeed presentthe latter is equipped, as in the photo, with a proximity sensor allowing a circular screen to be activated when the user approaches it.
- Fifth discovery, in South Korea, the government body responsible for certifying the wireless capabilities of electronic devices list a device whose code is 1030, close to codes 1007 from the Valve Index and 1010 from the Steam Deck.
Here’s what we can summarize about Valve’s next PCVR machine:
- It would be abouta console running on SteamOS ;
- Valve highlighting PCVR titles, the console would have a real dedicated graphics card and not a mobile chip which could make them run more difficult;
- The console could, via the VR Link, streamer its content directly on the Valve Deckardwithout going through your local wifi network, which would guarantee very low latency;
- THE VR link being only available on headsets ValveLThe company should offer a bundle including Deckard headset and console ;
- The device would be ready for mass distribution.
If the theory of SadlyItsBradley is confirmed, and the price looks reasonable, Valve should undoubtedly succeed in shaking things up. A PCVR console that would be as accessible as a Steam Deckwhich would make it possible to launch modsand which would be optimized by development studios would undoubtedly constitute a revolution in the industry. We can dream, but if the device proves to be transportable, it would even be possible to play everywhere and without latency in PCVR, crazy!
Revolution for two reasons : the success of such a console would push developers to offer more PCVR experiences, and more PCVR experiences would push gamers to adopt the system of Valvethus creating a virtuous loop. Even if the figures currently support autonomous experiments, it is not said that PCVR is not regaining ground thanks to the impetus of Gabe Newell. And who knows? Sony could take the opportunity to port its PSVR 2 games to Valve’s upcoming PCVR console.
Another significant point, the company of Gabe Newell could, like its portable PC console, firstly offer its own store: Steam. The general public could, for the sake of comfort, not try to install there Windows and buy all the games directly on the platform Valve, which would allow the company to reap enormous profits.
It is a safe bet that Valve will say more soon. To be continued !