Industry Expert Predicts 2026 Launch for New Valve XR Headset

Valve’s up to something wild—an XR headset called ‘Deckard.’ They’ve been at it for who knows how long. Suddenly, some industry bigwig sees the design and calls it “quite amazing.” Sure, sounds promising, but we’ll see if it actually lands next year or if it’s just another whisper in the tech jungle.

Stan Larroque, who cooks up XR gadgets over at Lynx, spilled the beans on X. He’s seen this Valve thingamajig. Not under any sneaky agreements, either. No secret handshakes or pinky swears apparently. Guess Lynx and Valve aren’t trying to elbow each other out since they’re cruising along in different leagues—different price tags and all that jazz.

But then he drops this hint like it’s an afterthought about sharing suppliers. Ah, the good ol’ supply chain riddle. It’s a small world, right? Everyone bumping into each other at the components market. “If Lynx’s stuff got leaked, I’d probably lose it too,” says Stan. Yet he’s hyped about fresh XR headsets. Go figure.

Okay, back to the main show: Valve’s tantalizingly vague journey. Rumor’s been flaring up since some tech geeks dug up the ‘Deckard’ name in the virtual dirt back in 2021. Leaked designs, sneaky 3D models creeping out of SteamVR—there’s a VR motion controller being dubbed ‘Roy’ somewhere in this mix, if you can believe it.

More tea? A tech dude, Bradley Lynch, swears Valve’s ramping up production. His evidence? They’re importing stuff to make headset parts in America. The gears are turning, folks.

What’s next? That’s a fat question mark. Rumors peg the headset for 2026, but let’s be real, it’s anyone’s game out here. Meta’s apparently cooking up two headsets for then, and Apple’s competitor to their own Vision Pro might drop in 2027. They love their mysteries. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Project Moohan’s trying to crash the party sooner, with Google’s Android XR onboard.

Here’s hoping Valve keeps it cool and skips all the glitzy announcements. Maybe they’ll stealth-drop a buy link on Steam. Honestly, I’ll be watching like a hawk just in case. Keep your eyes peeled, might just catch your next tech fix tumble out of nowhere.