Valve Index is over 5 years previous, but remains to be bought at $1000 for the complete package. That it is nonetheless the third most used headset on Steam regardless of its low decision in comparison with fashionable headsets is outstanding. This stage of retention is a testomony to each the standard of the {hardware} and to Valve’s model loyalty.
Oculus Rift S launched inside a month of Index again in mid-2019 at lower than half the worth and had considerably greater utilization on SteamVR for the primary few years. However by late 2021 Index had surpassed it and as we speak has round double the utilization. Many Rift S house owners probably upgraded to Quest 2 or Quest 3, whereas some others might have stopped utilizing VR altogether.
Index house owners alternatively largely held out, with many probably ready for a brand new headset from Valve or a religious successor from one other firm that helps their SteamVR base stations. Absent both although, some seem to now be lastly upgrading – to Meta’s Quest 3.
Index utilization peaked at round 21% of SteamVR customers simply earlier than Quest 3 launched, but is now utilized by round 15%. In that very same time the general proportion of Steam customers with a VR headset solely barely elevated, but Quest 3 has jumped to 17%. It is clear that many of those Quest 3 customers are upgrading, not new PC VR customers, and Index is among the headsets they’re upgrading from.
For half the worth, Quest 3 provides sharper pancake lenses, twice the variety of pixels, and built-in Wi-Fi 6E and upper-body monitoring. Index has a lot greater high quality built-in audio because of its off-ear BMRs, however for some house owners this may not make up for its outdated lenses and shows.
Some can have additionally upgraded to Bigscreen Past, although far fewer, given Past was solely utilized by 0.36% of SteamVR customers in August.
Valve has instantly confirmed on a number of events all through the years that it is engaged on a brand new headset, however hasn’t but formally introduced or teased a selected product. With Index’s five-year anniversary arriving in lower than two months many homeowners will probably be hoping to see a tease, on the very least, of what is subsequent. However will they get one, or with Steam Hyperlink is Valve now joyful to cede the {hardware} aspect of VR to Meta and its Horizon OS companions?
