VR is big, and if anyone’s interested in this new technology, it’s Gabe Newell. Newell and his company, Valve, have been at the forefront of making VR tech since its original inception. While Oculus was working on their original headset, Newell was working with HTC to develop the original Vive headset, complete with the start of their proprietary software, SteamVR. The companies worked together to develop a good SteamVR experience and invest in games for the headset to show just what VR can do. 

However, the two companies went their separate ways, but that didn’t stop the companies from using what they learned to improve their already existing headsets. Valve eventually made their VR headset for SteamVR, which is considered one of the best on the market. It comes with special controllers that take advantage of the movements of players’ fingers. The headset has become the go-to for all VR enthusiasts. HTC, on the other hand, worked to make improvements to their headsets. However, their pricing on their headsets and the fact that they’re still a little behind on specs has made them one of the few companies to fall to the wayside, despite being one of the pioneers of VR tech.

Newell spoke at a high school in New Zealand in May this year. An archive has been posted for those who want to watch the full panel. During this panel, he took questions from students about VR, AR and BCI. For those who aren’t familiar, BCI is the concept of Brain-Computer Interface, which is Newell’s goal in the future, having most technology work with the brain to make VR more immersive and interactive. However, some new footage from the conference surfaced recently from VR designer and analyst Brad Lynch.

The footage in question comes from another angle in the panel. Newell mentions in the footage that Valve is investing heavily in both VR headsets and games. However, this plan is also going further. He also mentions that the company is looking into the future and seeing how this would evolve into something along the lines of BCI. 

He says during the panel, “I think brain-computer interfaces are going to be incredibly disruptive, one of the more disruptive technology transitions we’re going to go through. So I think it’s super valuable. We’re making big investments in new headsets and games for those application categories, but also looking further down the road and saying, ‘what’s that evolve into?”

He then continues in the panel, talking about Half-Life Alyx and what VR is capable of. “Half-Life: Alyx was sort of our best statement on what we think the opportunities are, and I think that encapsulates our current best thinking on that. And it also informs the decisions we’re making on the next generation of headsets we’re developing.”

This isn’t the first time that a new headset has been mentioned. A while back, the same VR analyst, Lynch, posted a video on his YouTube channel talking about a “Valve Deckard” made in the code of SteamVR. He shows off many features included in the new headset, such as a wireless adapter and a standalone system layer. Which aims to let the headset run independently of the PC, although the Deckard will be a PC standalone hybrid, using computing power from both the headset and the PC to power the games on the headset.

Speaking speculatively, the Deckard could be Newell’s headset in the video. Previously, Newell mentioned that he sees the full introduction of BCI to be an “extinction-level event,” unlike VR. However, what’s true is that Newell sees VR and AR devices as a stepping stone to the world of widely available BCI. Whereas VR has become a second half of the online gaming world, he believes that BCI will become engrained into the world of gaming despite its supposed novel idea. With this in mind, the company is working on implementing BCI into the immersive gaming world. Much like their previous endeavors with HTC and their original Vive console, Valve is now working on new technology under the name Galea, collaborating with open BCI and the eye-tracking company Tobii. The three companies have been working on the Galea project for a while now and claim to be offering developer kits for these systems sometime in early 2022. Although, the company hasn’t fully spoken about the project since February of this year. 

There’s still one larger question remaining with all of this in mind. What does Valve’s investment in these new technologies mean for the future of gaming? There are a few ways that efforts for the Valve VR headsets could go. One way is that the company will start including these BCI interfaces in their new headsets. With the rumors about the Valve Deckard and the possibility that the BCI might be involved, it may be included in this new headset coming out. Since it’s a hybrid headset, this speculative competitor to the meta Quest 2 may include this new attachment; granted, the new headset would have to be made available at an affordable price. 

However, there’s another possibility for the headset as well. If the Valve Deckard launches without the BCI, there’s a chance that it could be sold as an attachment. This would make this hypothetical headset available at a lower price than originally. However, this would make it harder to push the use of BCI into the mainstream as people would have to purchase an upgrade for the headset if they wanted to use the new technology. 

Regardless, this is all speculation. The Deckard hasn’t come out yet, and players are still using their current headsets. With the Quest 2 being the main headset for VR users in and out of steam, there’s strong competition for the Deckard if it comes out anytime soon. As of now, the only information about the Deckard is the code inside of the SteamVR program. 

However, with Newell’s investment in new headsets and games and the fact he sees this medium as a stepping stone into the world of BCI, he might have some big plans for the upcoming headset when he does eventually unveil it. The only thing fans can do until then is wait.