Throughout 2020, Valve’s Index headset has been at times significantly backordered or out of stock entirely. Heading into 2021, Index stock appears to be strongly returning, with all regions presently estimating shipment within two weeks for most kits.
Updated – January 15th, 2021
We checked stock availability for all Index packages across all 31 regions where sold. The latest shows that the ‘Full Kit’ package—which includes everything needed to use the headset—is now expected to ship within two weeks in all regions; little more than a week ago, the Full Kit was listed as out of stock in all regions except the US, Canada, and Japan.
While the ‘Headset + Controllers’ and ‘Base Station’ packages remain out of stock in most regions, the separate ‘Headset’ and ‘Controllers’ packages are expected to ship within two weeks across the board.
See chart for: 4/30/20 | 5/6/20 | 5/18/20 | 7/6/20 | 8/4/20 | 8/27/20 | 9/7/20 | 10/16/20 | 11/27/20 | 1/5/21
Taken together, the current state of Index stock availability is the best its been in nearly a year, though we’ll have to see how long it holds.
Like other headsets, the Chinese-manufactured Index saw a double-whammy in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic: supply decreasing due to manufacturing disruptions and demand increasing due to shelter-in-place orders in many parts of the globe.
Availability of Valve Index stock fluctuated pretty significantly throughout 2020, but has been generally trending toward improvements in availability over the last two months.
In regions where backorders remain, it’s still possible to register your interest in any of the Index packages. To reserve a spot in line, check out the Index store page and click the order button. Valve is then sending out notifications by email when stock becomes available, giving customers a window to pull the trigger.
Oculus had been in the same boat with Quest and Rift S in the first half of 2021, though since the launch of Quest 2 it has kept up fairly well with demand.