An unfinished Steam page for Valve's leaked Valve Index virtual reality headset appeared overnight and though it has since been deleted, those who found it managed to grab a screenshot, giving us some tantalising details about Valve's new VR HMD. Not least that it's coming in June.
Since 2016 the two main VR headsets have been the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. We've seen a few others appear over that time, like the super-expensive Vive Pro, the entry-level Oculus Go, and more recently the easily-accessible HTC Vive Focus, Oculus Rift S, and Oculus Quest. None of them are really next-generation, more iterations on the original designs with some slight improvements in key areas. Valve's headset though, looks like something truly new and exciting.
The page featured a pretty indicative image of the headset, showing off its built in headphones, its over and round headstrap, and a pair of front-facing cameras. The lack of more overt sensor/camera systems suggests this headset won't be an inside-out headset like the Oculus Quest, Rift S, or Vive Focus, and will use external trackers. Vive owners will no doubt be hoping it's compatible with the existing Lighthouse sensors.
Other details gleaned from the page include a list of what you get in the box. It confirms the headset uses integrated headphones and has a tethering cable that uses DisplayPort 1.2 and USB 3.0. That suggests this won't be a USB-C, VirtualLink cable system. It will also come with Valve's much-vaunted Knuckle motion controllers.
There will be a pair of "face gaskets" in the box to accommodate different face sizes, one narrow, one wide. We've also seen an image from an alternative angle which showed an IPD adjustment slider.
Valve has removed this page for now, claiming that it will bring it back in May with more details. The headset itself, is coming in June.
