Proof suggests Valve’s subsequent VR controller might embrace a D-pad and bumpers to behave as a gamepad collectively too.
XR fanatic Brad Lynch and his crew of SteamVR dataminers have found a brand new Valve controller codenamed Roy within the code of SteamVR, together with an OpenXR extension, strongly suggesting it is a tracked controller, not a brand new Steam Controller.
Roy is sort of actually a reference to the antagonist of Blade Runner, matching the obvious codename of Valve’s subsequent headset, Deckard, the film’s protagonist.
Lynch says the mixture of datamining and data from “sources” reveals that Roy can have “at the very least” a D-pad, bumpers, grip buttons, triggers, ABXY buttons, a system button, and a few form of strap.
Additional, Lynch claims he was advised by these sources that Roy appears to be “far alongside in productization”.
Valve Job Itemizing Confirms It’s Planning To Ship A New VR Headset
Valve posted a job itemizing to “prototype, ship, and assist” a VR headset with superior monitoring options: At Valve, we’re pushing the boundaries of digital actuality (VR) experiences. We’re on the lookout for versatile, self-directed software program engineers in laptop imaginative and prescient who may also help us obtain the subsequent steps in VR
Valve has repeatedly confirmed over the previous three years that it is engaged on a brand new headset.
In December 2021, effectively over a yr after the launch of Index, Valve President Gabe Newell mentioned the corporate was “making huge investments in new headsets”.
In October 2022, Valve posted a job itemizing for a pc imaginative and prescient engineer to assist “prototype, ship, and assist” a VR headset for “thousands and thousands of shoppers world-wide“, with inside-out monitoring, digital camera passthrough, atmosphere understanding, eye monitoring, and hand monitoring. And in December 2022 Valve product designer Greg Coomer advised a Korean gaming information journal the corporate has been “engaged on a brand new VR headset these days”, and that there are “a number of initiatives occurring in-house”.
Most not too long ago, in November final yr Valve strongly hinted that the headset would concentrate on wi-fi streaming out of your PC, one thing that earlier datamining prompt too.
Valve Patents New VR Controller With Quest-Like Monitoring Ring
A Valve patent could reveal the controller for its in-development VR headset. Index has now been available on the market for effectively over three years. It nonetheless has best-in-class monitoring and audio high quality however its decision has been surpassed by even low-cost headsets like Quest 2 and Pico 4, and it
As for Deckard’s controllers, seemingly codenamed Roy, in 2022 Valve truly patented a controller with an IR LED monitoring ring and Index-like straps, although no D-pad was seen.
Provided that this patent was filed two years in the past, it’s totally attainable Valve has iterated on the design since. Particularly, since Meta and Pico have delivered low value ringless monitoring, making their earlier ringed controllers look outdated, it is exhausting to think about Valve launching a brand new controller with rings.
As to once we would possibly truly see Deckard and Roy ship as merchandise, that is anybody’s guess, as rumors have swirled of an imminent launch for years now. However with Index reaching six years outdated in June, and its SteamVR utilization share slowly declining following the launch of Quest 3, it appears 2025 actually may very well be the yr Valve lastly launches a successor.