Most packages of Index, Valve’s high-end VR headset released earlier this year, are sold out in a handful of regions following last week’s announcement of Half-Life: Alyx.
Update (December 2nd, 2019): Just days after we spotted that Index has been sold out in some regions following the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, the Index ‘full kit’ now notes that “delivery before December 25th cannot be guaranteed” due to “recent high demand” on the US and Canadian Steam stores.
The other packages (headset + controllers, headset-only, and controllers-only) in the US are still out of stock with a “Back in Stock Soon” message in place of the “Add to Cart” button.
Original Article (November 27th, 2019): If Valve is counting on Half-Life: Alyx being a killer app for VR, early signs suggest they may just get their wish.
While Valve’s Index headset was backordered at launch earlier this year, a few months later it became available for ‘immediate shipping’ and stock appears to have held steady ever since… until now.
Following last week’s announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, most Index packages—the headset-only, controllers-only, and headset + controller packages—are currently listed in the US and Canadian stores as sold out with a ‘Back in Stock Soon’ message in place of the order button.
As for the ‘full kit’ package (headset + controllers + base stations) in the US, Valve is advising that anyone ordering today can “expect delivery before December 25th,” nearly a month from now.
Valve sells Index in 31 countries; so far we’ve confirmed stock shortages in the US and Canada.
Update (November 28th, 2019): Road to VR reader Immersive Computing reports that the UK version of the Steam store is showing regular 4-8 day delivery times on all Index kits. We’ve also confirmed that availability in Italy is nominal.
If you can access the Steam store in a region other than the US, UK, and Italy, please check the Index page on Steam and drop us a comment below with what kind of shipping availability you see on each kit.
While Valve has confirmed that Half-Life: Alyx will be compatible with all PC VR headsets via Steam, the game is expected to play best on Index thanks in part to the advanced finger-tracking capabilities of the Index controllers. Valve also announced that it would be giving Half-Life: Alyx away to any owners of Index hardware (headset or controllers).