Much of the recent conversation regarding Steam’s parent company Valve, has been about the Steam Deck console. Notwithstanding the excitement accompanying the introduction of its portable game system, Valve is seriously putting efforts into the gaming device undertaking involving virtual reality (VR) technology. Indeed, it seems that Valve’s foray into handheld gaming innovation with the Steam Deck foretells what steps it might take in the domain of virtual reality.
Valve is in the process of developing the next edition of its recently released console, known as the Steam Deck 2. This was revealed by Valve’s co-founder and president, Gabe Newell, who said in an interview that the next Stream Deck may have some virtual reality features. Other than the Steam Deck on its own, the new innovation under the hood of the console can be utilised for rolling out a wireless virtual reality headset, quite similar to the Oculus Quest 2 by Meta.
Greg Coomer, a product designer at Valve, responded to a query about the custom APU of the Steam Deck handheld system appearing in a standalone VR headset last year. He said that although the company is not able to reveal too much information about the proposed offering, there is a general idea that it will suit the ecosystem well. Coomer signalled toward a future where VR is set to feature prominently.
More recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office came out with information about Valve’s design patent application filed by Valve in December. This application illustrates an HMD or head-mounted display, which can also be referred to as a VR headset. However, the patent seems to be for a flexible strap that is equipped with speakers, as opposed to a full-fledged VR headset. Numerous elaborate photos illustrate the internal dynamics of the strap’s two tweakable knobs, along with those of the movable headphones, in the patent application.
The patent’s photographs and descriptions appear to signify the development of a wireless VR headset. The general design seen in the photographs resembles the Valve Index, the wired virtual reality headset from the company. The design described in the patent filing, however, features a rear enclosure, which is different from the open-back design of the Index headset. One of the specifications for this new module states that the strap harness may be paired up to a rear enclosure present on the rear side of the head-mounted display. Its computational parts may be placed in the back housing. Based on another section of the document, some of the possible rear-housed components may be CPUs or batteries.
This evidence may lead to Valve producing an independent mobile VR headset, although a wireless VR headgear does not have to function independently of a PC or laptop.
Brad Lynch, an extended reality (XR) hardware expert, discovered an early setting for SteamVR capable of generating a Wi-Fi hotspot, supposedly to let a headset establish a flawless connection to a computer for gaming.
Further information is expected from Valve in the near future.
