Valve to Unveil Its Own VR Headset and Steam Machine

Move over, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus, the studio known for Steam, Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead is throwing its hat into the virtual reality war.

Just when you thought that Valve was already atop the PC gaming industry with its Steam distribution system, it intends to conquer the upcoming VR war with a headset of its own. Described as its "SteamVR" hardware, Valve is going to be showcasing its own virtual reality product at the 2015 Game Developers Conference next week in San Francisco. The company also hinted that it will be unveiling its own brand of Steam Machine, which is a console-sized PC gaming rig that is meant to be hooked up to a TV screen and played in a living room.

Valve has repeatedly delayed its upcoming Steam Controller (which features a touch-sensitive control pad), but will demo the updated peripheral at the event as well. While Valve didn't specifically use the phrase "Steam Machine," its announcement mentioned that "new living room devices" will be unveiled at GDC 2015, which sounds very Steam Machine-like to us.

Here is what Valve had to say about its presence at GDC 2015:

Steam is bringing the best games and user-generated content to exciting new destinations. At GDC 2015, we’ll be giving demos of the refined Steam Controller, new living room devices, and a previously-unannounced SteamVR hardware system.

With the introduction of SteamVR hardware, Valve is actively seeking VR content creators. Are you a developer or publisher interested in experiencing the new SteamVR hardware? We’ll be giving scheduled VR demos during the week of GDC, March 4th-6th, 2015, at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

If Valve does it right, the SteamVR could prove to be real competition to the Oculus Rift, which prioritizes the PC format. The other big VR headset competitor is the Project Morpheus, which will be utilized on the PlayStation 4.