With hardware from Apple, Sony, Meta and HTC, the world of VR headsets is growing apace. One of the most looked forward to is the next device from Valve, whose new model is expected this year and could be the most powerful headset for VR gaming. But a new rumor suggests it could be sooner than that.

Meta Quest 3: when will Valve’s new VR headset arrive?

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Code-named Valve Deckard (which arguably gives it the best name of any VR headset to start with), the first leaks happened in 2021. A new report from Tech Radar suggests that the late 2025 release date could be brought forward.

ForbesApple About To Make Unexpected Free Offer To All iPhone 13 UsersBy David Phelan

“New details from SadlyItsBradley – a source of several VR hardware leaks in the past – suggest that Valve could be steaming ahead with production, as the company has been importing the equipment needed to manufacture VR headset facial interfaces,” it says.

That doesn’t sound like the headset will arrive in the coming weeks, of course, but the same source says that Valve has “received new facial interfaces (not machinery),” which at least indicate that the Deckard is progressing as there’s not much else such equipment could be used for.

More recently, experimental ARM container tools were announced for Steam and an unreleased beta was found to contain a Linux SteamVR Link driver.

All of which is exciting, though as the specialist site, isvalvedeckardout.com, which displays the word NO in a huge font, says, nothing is certain.

“Valve’s reputation for ‘Valve Time’ (prioritizing product quality over deadlines) means the actual release could differ from these projections. The company has never officially confirmed Deckard’s existence, despite substantial evidence from code, patents, and reliable third-party reports,” it points out.

In which case, we’ll all be grateful whenever it arrives.

If there was any doubt about the codename, Is Valve Deckard Out explains it: “The codename ‘Deckard’ is widely believed to reference Rick Deckard from Blade Runner, following Valve’s sci-fi naming pattern (with companion ‘Roy’ controllers named after Roy Batty from the same film)” it says.

In case you don’t know, Valve Software was founded in 1996 and its debut game Half-Life, changed everything. I played it then and still play it now.

ForbesApple Now Has iPhone 15 Pro And iPhone 15 Pro Max At Lower PricesBy David Phelan