Valve has confirmed its intentions of developing Virtual Reality (VR) games and is reportedly working on new VR headsets for the same. The VR tracking headsets will work on the "Lighthouse" technology of SteamVR.
Gabe Newell, the co-founder and President of Valve, hosted an online interactive session on Reddit. He was live on Reddit's Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with his followers.
Newell has been attracted to VR for a very long time and has also been featured in Oculus' Kickstarter video. Valve is the driving force behind the HTC Vive. It is also responsible for Steam's position as the global leader of content in VR.
In a reply to a comment on Newell's post, Valve employee Joe Ludwig said that the company was developing more headsets that operated on Steam's VR tracking Lighthouse technology.
"500 companies have signed up to use Lighthouse and some of them are making HMDs. A few of them have talked about that, but a bunch more will announce when they're ready," noted Ludwig.
What Is The Lighthouse Technology?
The SteamVR Lighthouse tech is a futuristic technology that releases a bunch of lasers in a room, which can be tracked by headsets fitted with sensors on them. These lasers cannot be seen by the naked eye. Lighthouse is a compatible, unique system that can work on many products.
This technology has drastically lessened production costs as the tracking mechanism is already installed in the headsets. The technology also includes several new elements and objects that can brought into the world, which results in several new aspects of VR like fire-fighting, hitting a ball, etc. This has also increased its likeliness to actual life situations.
Newell had earlier stated that his team was spending a huge amount of time with his team for VR games and accessories. Several software and hardware developments were on the cards.
The Lab is currently the only VR game released by Valve. The company will look to expand this range soon. The development of new VR headsets is a giant step towards the same.
What Are Valve's Views On VR?
Newell had commented on a Reddit thread about Valve's interest in developing games for VR. He hinted that the company was keen to develop a VR-specific game and when asked that whether the company had any plans to release a full Valve VR game, he responded by saying that VR was a very tool for the gaming industry and that Valve was definitely looking making more interesting VR games.
What Is The Future Of Valve?
Valve is looking to expand its options as a company and will be aiming to offer unique experiences to users. Newell mentioned that investing in new types of hardware would give Valve the edge. The company is currently focusing on new knuckle controllers for its own VR games.
The gaming arena is thus getting more exciting as big players like Valve are looking to expand and innovate gaming experiences, with VR being their main focus. It remains to be seen how the gaming community will take to this new technology.
