Valve appears to be juggling numerous projects at the moment, including the imminent release of Counter-Strike 2, ongoing Steam Deck improvements, and a 20th-anniversary celebration, which adds to the commotion. Yet, quietly behind the scenes, they are rolling out updates to Steam VR and the Steam Client, introducing fresh VR-related capabilities and user interface enhancements. It’s possible that the recent flurry of activity around the gaming company in Bellevue is concealing the potential development of a new VR headset, perhaps even the rumored “Deckard” wireless HMD.
On X (formerly Twitter), VR investigator and analyst Brad Lynch recently revealed a multitude of alterations to the Steam VR Client backend and other Steam software. Specifically, they observed mentions of battery details for a standalone HMD device, fresh UI elements, icons, and animations within the Steam Client for VR, and the addition of “Wireless Icons/Internet settings” for an upcoming new VR Dashboard in Steam. You can explore the extensive collection of findings on their profile, which is expansive in scope but doesn’t delve too deeply into the details, resembling a wide-ranging pool of references that spans a great distance but lacks depth.
No matter the quantity of references found, these updates signify activity within Valve’s VR domain. Additionally, these findings coincide with a recent Valve radio certification in South Korea, adding credibility to the ongoing speculations. Moreover, these discoveries align with a previous VR patent that hints at a wireless standalone VR headset possibly codenamed “Deckard.” Nonetheless, concrete information will remain elusive until Valve officially announces something, which might not be too distant in the future.
Considering the upcoming launch of Counter-Strike 2, it could be intriguing for Valve to leverage the excitement surrounding this release to either tease or fully unveil their next VR headset. Moreover, this move could steal some spotlight from Meta, which is hosting its Meta Connect 2023 event on September 27th, the rumored CS2 launch date. If we entertain a wilder speculation, the Valve Index was launched 59 days after its initial announcement, so if this pattern persists, the next device might see a Black Friday release, assuming an announcement aligns with the release of CS2.
Certainly, this is purely speculative and not highly probable, but it’s undeniably enjoyable to ponder. There’s clearly a project in progress, and we can confirm it’s not related to a new Steam Deck. The fate of whatever is under development, whether it will eventually materialize, remains uncertain, given that it’s Valve we’re talking about, after all.
Steam VR Client had another ridiculously large update with a ton of new VR focused implementations. Gonna be a wild night on my Twitter!
Lets start off with these! Which include battery information for.. some sort of Standalone HMD thing 🤔 pic.twitter.com/tSvwKSSJxp
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) September 21, 2023