Everything we know about Valve Deckard, the long-awaited sequel to Valve's Index VR headset

Depending on who you ask, the Valve Index is still one of, if not the greatest, VR headset ever made. For many gamers, it was the first virtual reality device that was worth buying, which gave them performance and visual fidelity worthy of their high-end gaming PCs. Not only that, but it was from Valve - y'know, the company that brought us Half-Life, Team Fortress 2, and a little startup platform you might have heard of called Steam.

After the dust had settled from the launch of the Valve Index and its Half Life: Alyx pairing, Valve's first headset earned a spot among the best VR headsets, and in 2025, it looks as though we're finally getting a follow-up. Codenamed Valve Deckard (but now assumedly referred to as the "Steam Frame", the new headset is rumoured to launch in the latter part of 2025 or early 2026. Although there's still been no official confirmation on it, there have been plenty of leaks and a whole lot of signs pointing to its upcoming arrival.

Of course, Valve's hardware is famously hit or miss. While the Steam Deck is industry-leading and arguably kickstarted the whole handheld gaming PC craze we see today, we probably don't need to mention the Steam controller, nor the original Steam machine that was said to be the console market killer. Luckily, Gabe Newell's company struck gold when it made its VR headset, and even if its price has always been a barrier to entry, the Valve Index is still hallowed in the VR hall of fame.

What's the latest news on Valve Deckard?

The latest news about Valve Deckard comes from a report from UploadVR, which seems to suggest that Valve's next VR headset has entered mass production.

The report stems from a Chinese analyst group called XR Research Institute, which apparently claimed that the launch is set for this year, in the holiday season.

Although this report has been picked up by a few publications, I'd take it with a pinch of salt - especially seeing as there is no link to the source (XR Research Group) saying this publicly. I'm not suggesting here that the lovely folks at UploadVR would fabricate anything, more that it's always harder to trust information from a new source when it hasn't been publicly quoted or shown on a public platform - in other words, this is really just hearsay right now.

Still, if the report is to be believed, XR Research Group also estimates that the new Valve headset is set for a production run of 400,000 to 600,000 units per year - which is a similar ballpark figure to the Apple Vision Pro's production numbers. That does hint that this headset will cater to a higher-end market, since the sales figures of the Meta Quest 3 and 3S are both slated to be in the millions, and they're at more affordable prices.

Perhaps most interestingly, renowned VR leaker SadlyItsBradley has also posted some code from the latest SteamVR beta, which may suggest that not one, but two different Valve headsets are on the way. This could mean that two different SKUs are headed for the shelves - perhaps this will enable higher-end users to choose to spend more on a higher spec model? Maybe Valve will follow its own trend with the Steam Deck and offer an OLED model or a higher capacity in its more expensive device?

Again, like everything, this should be taken with a pinch of salt. It could just be that the engineers at Valve are testing performance on two different types of experimental firmware, and this is to help distinguish between them - we just don't know yet.

What is Valve "Deckard" and what do we know about it?

Even if we don't have confirmation that a new Valve headset is coming, speculation that Valve was making one actually started way back in 2021. Gabe Newell, Valve's CEO, said at a panel talk that the company was making big investments in new headsets. While that's hardly a confirmation that it's been working on a new device since then, it showed that Valve has VR plans beyond the original Index.

More recently, speculation and rumours from Gabe Follower on Twitter (who has a notable track record of releasing Valve's plans ahead of time) say that Deckard will be a new standalone VR headset that will run on a refined version of SteamOS. That means it'll be able to be used without the addition of a gaming PC, and that it'll run on the same operating system as Valve's Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED.

The purported bonus of running on this OS isn't just that it puts Valve's SteamVR library front and center, but that non-VR games that already run on a Steam Deck will be playable on Valve Deckard for even more portable, play-on-the-go versatility.

Even though the device is titled to be a standalone headset, it's also possible that the Valve Deckard stays true to its roots and has either HDMI or DisplayPort connectivity for those who want a more powerful, visually lossless VR experience.

According to leaked schematics, Deckard will be paired with controllers that are codenamed "Roy" and look fairly similar to standard VR controllers we've seen already. It looks as though, like Meta Quest 3, Valve has ditched the tracking rings on these ones, though.

In April of 2025, SadlyItsBradley, one of the most well-known sources of VR leaks on the internet, came out with news that Valve has apparently been importing equipment to manufacture HMDs (head-mounted displays) and facial interfaces in the US. The "insider" posted shipping manifests and images attesting to this report, which can be seen below.

This led a lot of press to believe that Valve Deckard might not be so far off its rumored 2025 timeline, and that it would seem the headset is being manufactured, at least in part, in the US.

According to a more recent set of reports in May, which again, should be taken with a pinch of salt, the founder of Lynx, a French startup in the XR space, has some knowledge of Valve Deckard. Stan Larroque said on Twitter, "The design of Valve next HMD is quite amazing!

"I would be equally pissed if Lynx nextgen ID got leaked so I won't share more. I'm just excited for good new XR HMDs. The HMD-making world is so small, we all share the same suppliers for some components."

Larroque later claimed that Deckard won't launch until 2026, but this is the first bit of speculation that points to a launch date outside of 2025.

What will Valve Deckard's name be?

The biggest clues that point to any name beyond the codename Deckard have come from Valve trademarking the name "Steam Frame."

We have no idea how the brand intends to use the trademarked name at this stage, but it certainly aligns timing-wise with the hype building for a new VR headset. We need to take this with a pinch of salt though, because rumours have also been swirling about the existence of a second-generation Steam Machine. For those who aren't aware, the Steam Machine was Valve's attempt at making a modular console of sorts. It was like a games console you could open up and swap parts in and out of, which aimed to blend the convenience of traditional consoles with the upgradability of gaming PCs.

If you think about what a "Frame" is, it could lend itself to being a VR headset - ie, something you peer into. In my head, that name works for a head-mounted display. At the same time, it's hard to nail down a potential name for any of the rumoured Valve hardware at the moment.

Alongside Deckard, there are also whispers of a Steam Deck 2, and a new Steam Machine. Stay tuned for more news and updates as they happen.

When will Valve Deckard's release date be?

According to most insiders on Twitter, as well as unconfirmed speculation, Valve Deckard is scheduled to launch before the end of 2025, but as we still don't have official confirmation that the headset even exists, it might be a while before we hear more about its official release date. It's always hard to speculate on Valve's hardware releases, since the brand tends to reveal them and drop stock in the same day.

A launch before the end of 2025 would certainly make sense within the current market. Meta's Quest 3 and Quest 3S devices launched in October of 2023 and 2024, and right now, we have speculation that a headset from Asus that uses Meta's OS could launch at some point this year. Also waiting in the wings are Samsung and Google's take on the Apple Vision Pro, as well as a similarly aimed Pico headset. We don't have a launch date for any of these yet, but Samsung's especially has been in the works for a long time now.

How much will Valve Deckard cost?

While we don't have an official price, we do have a few rumours from Gabe Follower that point to the new headset being bundled with its controllers and a few "in-house" games or demos, and that the entire bundle could cost $1,200. This is the most concrete detail we have on pricing thus far, but it's also still unconfirmed and should absolutely be taken with a dose of scepticism.

What we do know is that the VR market has shifted dramatically since the Valve Index arrived.

Back then, PC headsets were the name of the game, but they were a luxury item that cost at least $1,000. Thankfully, the hardware has come a long way since, because you don't need silly room tracking modules, or even wires, if you don't want them.

Now, we have headsets like PSVR 2, which beats the Valve Index in a lot of its specs and features, and costs under $500. Taking up a bigger chunk of the market, though, are standalone devices, and since it's rumoured that Valve Deckard will fit into this niche, its prices could point to a more reasonable (and affordable) device than last time.

The Meta Quest 3, the Meta Quest 3S, and the Pico 4 Ultra are what a new Valve headset will need to compete with in the standalone market. The most affordable of those options is the Quest 3S 128GB model, which only costs $299. I'd wager the Deckard headset will cost more than these devices since it's likely targeting a higher-end gaming market, but I hope it won't drift as high as the Apple Vision Pro, which costs a ludicrous $3,500.

Perhaps most appropriate for comparison is the HTC Vive Focus Vision, a PC-tilted but still standalone VR device. It's designed for visually lossless VR gaming on PC, so it's a natural competitor to whatever Valve is cooking up. That headset costs $999 - which aligns it closer to the original Valve Index.

I'd personally like to think that Valve has learned from the affordability of its Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED, so I'd hope the Valve Index undercuts HTC. My personal hopes for a price for Valve Deckard would be around the $700 mark, but it entirely depends upon the chipset used, because if it can offer substantially more power than a Quest 3 or Pico 4 Ultra, it'll be worth the extra money versus one of the best gaming handhelds.

What games will Valve Deckard be able to play?

If Valve Deckard is set to run on a refined version of SteamOS, it'd stand to reason that every game on Steam that's VR compatible will be playable on the new headset. If it can also link to a PC, it'll likely be able to either stream gameplay through something like Steamlink from your gaming PC, or it'll hook up to your graphics card with a wire for a pure, lossless experience.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of VR games already on Steam, so I don't think Deckard will be short of titles to play.

The big question is whether or not we'll get a first-party game release, like we did with Half-Life: Alyx. Could it be a classic Valve secret, could it be a VR port of Deadlock? We'll need to wait and see, but so far, rumors have been pretty quiet about anything to do with new software.

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