Valve has the perfect opportunity to bring VR to the masses

While we desperately wait for the release of Half-Life: Alyx (coming 23rd March), I would like to point out that this can be the opportunity of mass adoption of Virtual Realy (VR).

I cannot say the game will actually be the killer app that we are waiting for (only after release we will have insights on that), but we cannot deny the huge hype and impact that this game carries with it. From the immersive storytelling to the innovative ways of interacting with the environment, Half-Life is one of the most played and awaited game of our decade, and people will line up to have a go on the next chapter.

On the other hand, it’s Valve’s aim to sell their latest VR headset, Valve Index, and they came up with a very good strategy to do it. The game alone will cost £46.49, but if you buy the entire Valve Index set (£919.00) or just a peripheral (only the controllers for £259.00 or just the headset for £459.00) you will get the HL: Alyx for free.

This is a great power move on their part because, interestingly enough, people prefer to buy or update their own VR system and get the game for free rather than buying just the game (we can see this already happening by doing a quick search on the news and finding that Valve Index is sold out globally). Moreover, it’s perfect for Valve because it gets the monopoly of the platform used, therefore, easy to produce other content for consumers in the future.

With all of this, I believe we are reaching the perfect point to get the majority of people invested in VR. Valve has the perfect opportunity to reach more people and make them enrolled in XR technology, paving the way to new opportunities for us “VR developers” to get a bigger audience and show all the potential that we can bring to this platform.

Sources:
Half-Life: Alyx (website)