Virtual reality is quickly becoming a new area where tech companies are hopeful to enter the fray. Valve, the leading competitor to Oculus and its Oculus Rift headset, has announced a new Dota 2 that will have it at the forefront of the virtual reality market.
The device will give users the experience of viewing a game or spectate in first-person, and the news was made at the Boston VR Bender, where a prototype of Valve's headset reared its head. It was reported by an attendee on Reddit.
"Talking with the Valve guys about that Portal office experience, they mentioned offhandedly that they have a Dota 2 VR experience where you see the entire game arena sitting on a table in front of you and can bend down to inspect any piece of the action," Reddit user jonomf wrote.
"I really, really want to see that. They also mentioned a life-size Dota 2 VR experience where you're hanging out in a lane watching the heroes fight; they said it was very scary."
The news has created some buzz across the tech and virtual reality worlds, where many had believed that Valve, according to their own statements, was at least two years away from developing a headset that could be put on the consumer market.
But the news should not be seen as a full-fledged war over the VR world with Oculus as the two companies have partnered on numerous projects in recent years and Valve has previously stated that they view Oculus as the best company to deliver their VR technology to the general public.
There was no official statement made on the headset by Valve, and no timetable has been revealed as to when the testing phase of the prototype may be completed and the product available for general consumption and purchase.
Valve had not been expected to develop their own complete headset, using their VR technology, and development to help push forward headsets designed by third party companies, but with Facebook purchasing Oculus earlier this year, the ability to work through Oculus has been put into jeopardy and many observers expect the company could pivot toward designing and manufacturing.
Reports from Boston also say the new device could possibly be linked to a camera and have multiple sensors but maintaining a lightweight and easy to carry shell.
