There are rumors about Valve’s PC VR console

Image: Valve

There are rumors that Valve is planning to launch a PC VR console. But does that make sense for Valve?

The YouTuber who spotted multiple hints at Valve’s wireless Deckard headset is now tracking a new frontrunner. According to Brad Lynch, Valve may be planning to release a PC VR console combined with Deckard to enable wireless PC VR gaming.

Lynch’s theory is based on patents, findings in various drivers pointing to a device called “Galileo,” and a four-year-old image from Valve headquarters showing a Unknown control panel-like device.

If you want to go deeper, I recommend reading UploadVR’s article on the topic, which summarizes all the findings. These and other links are listed at the end of this article.

What’s in it for a PC VR console?

There’s no doubt that Valve is working on new VR hardware and a successor to the Valve Index. The real question for now is whether it is one Completely independent device like Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro, or whether it has one will need a PC to act as an external compute unit and low-latency VR streamer.

A PC VR console similar to Steam Machines, but built by Valve itself like the Steam Deck, would have the necessary streaming requirements, be much more powerful than Meta Quest, and help developers create games for Valve’s VR platform more easily. Because there are many different PC, headset, and VR controller configurations, VR studios have to work a lot to adapt their software to SteamVR. Galileo can provide standardization is the same as the control panel for PC VR.

A PC VR console would also allow Valve to continue operating in its traditional PC domain and not be forced to open a separate storefront with content produced specifically for the standalone headset.

Valve Galileo may be coming soon

The question, of course, is how much demand there will be for Valve’s PC VR console.

Keep in mind that you will likely need to purchase a Deckard headset in addition to the console. Console users looking to get into VR can also buy a Playstation VR 2 (wired), while PC users are unlikely to buy a second PC specifically for VR. In any case, Meta Quest will have a price advantage and will work without a PC. From this perspective, I suspect Galileo can breathe more life into the SteamVR platform, which has been stagnant for a long time.

Years ago, Oculus and Apple also toyed with the idea of ​​an external processor streaming VR content into the headset but scrapped it in favor of a standalone solution.

Hopefully we’ll hear more from Valve soon: Korea’s Radio Research Agency recently certified some unspecified Valve hardware, suggesting a launch is imminent. Most likely this device is Galileo.

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