Industry Expert Predicts 2026 Launch for New Valve XR Headset

Sure thing. Here’s the rewritten article:

—

So, turns out Valve’s been tinkering with this XR headset for who knows how long. They’re calling it ‘Deckard’ – like, seriously, Deckard? Anyway, some guy on the inside says he’s sneaked a look at it, and apparently, it’s “quite amazing.” Whatever that means. Might be dropping next year – or not, who knows.

Now, Stan Larroque, who’s the brain behind Lynx (yeah, another XR company), pops up and says on X (what even is that place?) that he eyeballed Valve’s new design. He goes like, “The design is pretty neat!” But wait, Stan makes it clear – no NDAs tying him down. Which may or may not add up, your call.

He chats with Road to VR, hinting that Valve’s Deckard won’t really step on Lynx’s toes. They’re targeting different folks, banging around in separate cages, so to speak. Supposedly. Also, he throws in that Valve and Lynx might use the same suppliers. Smells like, maybe, a leak? Stan doesn’t seem ticked about it though. Actually, he says he’d be madder if Lynx’s secret sauce got spilled.

More whispers: He thinks mass production could kick-off by 2026. That’s slightly off from what this leaker ‘Gabe Follower’ said, claiming Deckard would hit shelves in late 2025, tagging a price of $1,200. Valve, predictably, stays mum. Meanwhile, the rumor mill’s spinning pretty hard since some data ninjas caught onto the Deckard name back in ’21.

There were those prototype peeks in 2022, right? Spotted in a Steam update. And what do you know, Valve’s reportedly cooking up a new VR controller too, nicknamed ‘Roy’ – which honestly gives me cowboy vibes for some reason.

Right before this, Brad ‘SadlyItsBradley’ Lynch (cool name) talked about Valve getting its gears ready for the Deckard rollout. Apparently, they’re hauling in gear to make headset interfaces in the US. He hints that Teleray Group’s behind this – same folks who did gaskets for Valve Index. Sounds legit? Maybe.

Bottom line: Valve’s still playing coy, but clearly doing headway on this standalone XR rig. If Larroque’s right about the 2026 timeline, it’ll be interesting times with Meta planning some 2026 launches too. Crazy XR years ahead!

And then we’ve got Samsung’s Project Moohan heading out, partnered with Google’s new Android XR, flaunting apps like never before. Valve might dodge the spotlight with those flashy shindigs – maybe just slip it out on Steam like it’s NBD. Keeping tabs until things go live – or whenever.

—