Valve "Deckard" VR Headset Touted to Launch Around Late 2025, with Speculative $1200 Price Point

[T0@st]

A Valve-designed next-gen VR headset is a compelling prospect, but not many details have emerged online since the company's (2022) teasing of new developments. Press outlets noticed a September 2023 registration of a mysterious device in South Korea; following this discovery, many anticipated a steady flow of leaks. Relative silence ensued; brewing speculation that Valve Corporation had shelved another top secret project. Fast-forward to the present day; Gabe Follower—a self-confessed Valve/Half Life 3 tipster—believes that all systems are go for a codenamed "Deckard" VR headset. The amusingly-named leaker (referencing Gabe Newell) claims to have an inside track: "several people have confirmed that Valve is aiming to release new standalone, wireless VR headset (codename Deckard) by the end of 2025. The current price for the full bundle is set to be $1200. Including some "in-house" games (or demos) that are already done. Valve want to give the user the best possible experience without cutting any costs."

The "Index" was Valve's first attempt at cornering the VR gaming market, but the buying public (back in 2019) largely favored rival models. A long-gestating follow-up would need to really "hit it out of the park," when placed against a new generation of competing hardware. Valve's alleged Blade Runner-themed device, was linked to a set of previously leaked VR controllers; codenamed "Roy." Additionally, Gabe Follower reckons that Valve is prepared to make financial sacrifices, in order to establish a foothold within an extremely competitive market: "even at the current price, it will be sold at a loss. A few months ago, we saw leaked models of controllers—Roy—in the SteamVR update. It will be using the same SteamOS from Steam Deck, but adapted for virtual reality. One of the core features is the ability to play flat-screen games that are already playable on Steam Deck, but in VR on a big screen without a PC. The first behind closed doors presentations could start soon."



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[Space Lynx]

Day 1 buy for me. I have waited long enough. @Mindweaver This is the way.

 

[Francoporto]

Day one if :

- OLED ~2500p eyes 144Hz
- 130° FoV vertical et 150° FoV horizontale (please god need a big FoV)
- Pancakes or something good like that
- Light, not bulky, comfortable
- DP 2.1
- Please a good encoding, decoding video

- Tracking inside-out
- Same controllers but with better battery

- Please an OS optimized like god

 

[evernessince]

Day 1 buy for me. I have waited long enough. @Mindweaver This is the way.

Yes, assuming they have PC support (which this is valve so highly likely) same for me.

The $1,200 price tag pretty much tracks with inflation and you are getting several additional features like it being standalone and wireless. The only questions remain are how much they improved other factors.

 

[Visible Noise]

Day one if :

- OLED ~2500p eyes 144Hz
- 130° FoV vertical et 150° FoV horizontale (please god need a big FoV)
- Pancakes or something good like that
- Light, not bulky, comfortable
- DP 2.1
- Please a good encoding, decoding video

- Tracking inside-out
- Same controllers but with better battery

- Please an OS optimized like god

You’ll be waiting until 2035 for specs like that.

 

[yfn_ratchet]

I won't expect anything until Valve themselves say something. People have been ranting and raving since '22 about a 'brand new headset' from Valve but it's obvious that there's still plenty of hoops to jump through—especially the plethora of as-of-yet unaddressed bugs affecting Linux (and in this case, likely specifically SteamOS) users when running SteamVR.

Pipewire audio suites have horrible interactions with the VR compositor when CPU bound, attempting to start or stop the multiple handles associated with SteamVR in the wrong order (which cannot be controlled, AFAIK) runs the risk of blowing up your graphics driver (speaking from experience on Nvidia's 550 driver) and causing a system hang or causing a 307 error and requiring you to completely close SteamVR and Steam before trying again, and Proton is, well... Proton. Was a fun few months when the text shader for Blade & Sorcery would make the lore tidbits in Outposts nearly illegible unless you held it at an awkward angle.

In any case, if the rumors turn out to be true, $1200 is a painful price for accessible standalone VR, even if it's coming from the subject of my fanboy adulation. I wouldn't care if the displays and optics were hardly a step up from the Index—I genuinely believe people overblow its hangups—as long as it occupied the same price bracket of the Quest 3, because like it or not, even if Facebook is losing abhorrent amounts of money with each sale of a Quest headset, they have set the standard for entry level at $500, $300 if you consider the budget-oriented 3S/(formerly) Quest 2.

But hey. Maybe it's for the serious enthusiasts who need a crystal-clear look at their far-beyond-retina displays with all the tracking in the world so you can extract every extra millisecond from foveation and every bit of expressiveness in your choice of social VR space. And you know what, that'd appeal to me, but I'm a cheapskate so I'd be a very slow adopter.

 

[Mindweaver]

Day 1 buy for me. I have waited long enough. @Mindweaver This is the way.

I just watched Tyler McVicker's new YT video about HL3 or as it's referred to in valve updates as HLX. So at the end of the video he added that they updated Deadlock and a string has been found that says FSR3 has been added to HLX which means it's very close to release.

 

[N3utro]

Too high price range for beeing a hit.

Meta cancelled their own future high end VR headset to focus on the $500 segment, because that's what most people are buying.

 

[theglaze]

Too high price range for beeing a hit.

Meta cancelled their own future high end VR headset to focus on the $500 segment, because that's what most people are buying.

"Hit"... Nintendo Switch was a "hit" and so will Switch 2. But that gaming experience isn't for everyone. It's aimed at gamers aged 25 years and younger.

$1,200 VR headset with (assuming) direct PC connection to leverage +$1,000 GPU is for the adults in the room.

 

[Space Lynx]

Too high price range for beeing a hit.

Meta cancelled their own future high end VR headset to focus on the $500 segment, because that's what most people are buying.

Their last VR setup was $999 at launch and was sold out for a long time. I think they will be just fine.

 

[Mindweaver]

Too high price range for beeing a hit.

Meta cancelled their own future high end VR headset to focus on the $500 segment, because that's what most people are buying.

They only put the high end Pro model on hold. The word is we will see another Pro model from Meta 2026. Have you seen their Orion AR glass? The MR (VR/AR) landscape is about to get a lot of new players. Google and Samsung have a new HMD coming out this year. Check out the new Play for Dreams hmd. So far if Valve can release a new HMD that's standalone for 1200 bucks then it will be very interesting.

 

[bitsandboots]

Hoping they'll give a good lens, wide FOV headset, even better if it has eye tracking, so that users who want a genuine successor to existing PCVR headsets can get one without all sorts of compromises that are on the market today.

standalone, wireless VR headset

Well that's a shame. Guessing the inconvenience of that will render the above not worth the trouble. If I wanted that quest already exists. All the other non-quest standalones have had that be a downside of the headset rather than a benefit.

 

[Kapone33]

You’ll be waiting until 2035 for specs like that.

Have you seen Pimax latest. Better than those and it is 2025.

Their last VR setup was $999 at launch and was sold out for a long time. I think they will be just fine.

Add the popularity of the Steam Deck and Steam will have young players looking at these with their first relevant paystubs.

 

[bitsandboots]

Have you seen Pimax latest. Better than those and it is 2025.

I've owned pimax and it gets close to that list but,
Every pimax model is a brick in weight.

Also they've always had poor quality control and customer support. If the thing becomes a brick in functionality you'll be high and dry. You used to have some protection against that when they sold on Amazon, but they stopped that and started doing this thing where they'll sell you the headset, and then you have to pay for the software separately, to make refunds harder.

 

[Kapone33]

I've owned pimax and it gets close to that list but,
Every pimax model is a brick in weight.

Also they've always had poor quality control and customer support. If the thing becomes a brick in functionality you'll be high and dry. You used to have some protection against that when they sold on Amazon, but they stopped that and started doing this thing where they'll sell you the headset, and then you have to pay for the software separately, to make refunds harder.

I was just talking about the Specs.

 

[Mindweaver]

I've owned pimax and it gets close to that list but,
Every pimax model is a brick in weight.

Also they've always had poor quality control and customer support. If the thing becomes a brick in functionality you'll be high and dry. You used to have some protection against that when they sold on Amazon, but they stopped that and started doing this thing where they'll sell you the headset, and then you have to pay for the software separately, to make refunds harder.

Have you saw the new Pimax progress update on the Dream Air? They just posted it today. It looks pretty good but they always over sell and under deliver but the new lenses look interesting. This looks like the best form factor so far.

 

[Space Lynx]

Have you saw the new Pimax progress update on the Dream Air? They just posted it today. It looks pretty good but they always over sell and under deliver but the new lenses look interesting. This looks like the best form factor so far.

yeah, exactly. the benefit of the Deckard will be the support + SteamOS optimizations. it's going to rock.

also that name is cool, I don't care if Valve changes the name, I'm going to keep calling it the Deckard

 

[bitsandboots]

Have you saw the new Pimax progress update on the Dream Air? They just posted it today. It looks pretty good but they always over sell and under deliver but the new lenses look interesting. This looks like the best form factor so far.

Yes, I have seen it! But, as you say, over promise under deliver. Or never deliver. Whatever new thing they show is as real to me as the Tesla roadster that's been on the way for the last decade.
I like that they try many things, more than anyone else. But they're really bad at finishing what they start, and quality control...
Also I mourn for the lack of a 5k/8k successor. Flawed as they were, there is nothing that comes close to their FOV, and something that could with a much better lens would be an amazing thing.

 

[Francoporto]

Have you saw the new Pimax progress update on the Dream Air? They just posted it today. It looks pretty good but they always over sell and under deliver but the new lenses look interesting. This looks like the best form factor so far.

Wow the Pimax Dream Air seems insane !!! OLED, big 3k5 per eye, 90k, 200gr !!

 

[Mindweaver]

yeah, exactly. the benefit of the Deckard will be the support + SteamOS optimizations. it's going to rock.

also that name is cool, I don't care if Valve changes the name, I'm going to keep calling it the Deckard

Yeah, I can't wait. I have to say that the new Steam Link that Valve released on the Meta store works really well and easy to use. We can't forget about all of the 3rd party Meta devices that are about to drop as well. The one Asus is teasing sounds interesting.

Yes, I have seen it! But, as you say, over promise under deliver. Or never deliver. Whatever new thing they show is as real to me as the Tesla roadster that's been on the way for the last decade.
I like that they try many things, more than anyone else. But they're really bad at finishing what they start, and quality control...
Also I mourn for the lack of a 5k/8k successor. Flawed as they were, there is nothing that comes close to their FOV, and something that could with a much better lens would be an amazing thing.

Everything is changing so fast. I agree I want bigger FOV the most right now.

Wow the Pimax Dream Air seems insane !!! OLED, big 3k5 per eye, 90k, 200gr !!

I hope they can deliver. Check out the new Play for Dreams hmd that was shown off at CES.

 

[theouto]

I just hope that this won't mean the death of the index, maybe even a slight discount.

 

[farmertrue]

Yeah, I can't wait. I have to say that the new Steam Link that Valve released on the Meta store works really well and easy to use. We can't forget about all of the 3rd party Meta devices that are about to drop as well. The one Asus is teasing sounds interesting.

Everything is changing so fast. I agree I want bigger FOV the most right now.


I hope they can deliver. Check out the new Play for Dreams hmd that was shown off at CES.

I was fortunate enough to go to CES this year for the first time. Tried a huge variety of VR headsets and the future is bright for PCVR. The Crystal Super was insane! It seems to have everything I want in a VR headset. And that FOV, I measured 118 horizontal x 102 vertical on their 57PPD lenses. The 50PPD lenses are 15 degrees wider which will be unbelievable. Already have mine on order and can't wait to get it back on my face.

Until microOLED can reach 110 horizontal or more and get brighter displays, then QLED with local dimming will be ideal IMO.

 

[Hilux SSRG]

Day one purchase if they call it "Deckard."

 

[TheGeekn°72]

I'm genuinely surprised at the lack of mentions in here of Pico's HMDs, I got a Neo 3 Link last year, the damn thing fucking rocks, along with the Full Body Tracking ankle pucks (they are amazing ! thought they do lack game support since FBT isn't exactly wide spread) and I'm thinking about reselling to get a Pico 4 Ultra (better all around) which only costs 600€ so Valve possibly pricing the Deckard at 1200 ? yeah no, I'm sorry but fuck that.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

*Pushes glasses up nose*

This is it guyz! This is when VR stops being a niche and goes mainstream!

"Hit"... Nintendo Switch was a "hit" and so will Switch 2. But that gaming experience isn't for everyone. It's aimed at gamers aged 25 years and younger.

$1,200 VR headset with (assuming) direct PC connection to leverage +$1,000 GPU is for the adults in the room.

-Problem is there just aren't enough adults in the room for VR to hit critical mass, just keeps limping along in this perpetual state of limbo...