Coronavirus: Valve Index Production Impacted, Fewer Units Coming Soon

[anastiel]

Valve will have "far fewer" units of the Index VR hardware to sell during the coming months due to the impact of the Coronavirus.

In a statement released to UploadVR, Valve confirmed it is working to meet demand for the high-end Valve Index VR headset and they are reassuring prospective buyers that the system will be available to purchase again prior to the March launch of Half-Life: Alyx. The company says to receive a notification when the hardware is available again click "Notify Me" on its Steam page.

The Valve Index hardware includes a high-end PC VR headset and controllers which strap to the hands. They've been in high demand since the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx in November, and unavailable to purchase in recent weeks. Alyx was made alongside the Index controllers and fans are highly anticipating its release on March 23 as the first new game in the groundbreaking Half-Life franchise in more than a decade. Half-Life: Alyx should work with all PC VR headsets with tracked controllers, including Oculus Quest via the Oculus Link, but some optional interactions are only possible with the Index controllers.

Here's the full statement from Valve:

With Half-Life: Alyx coming March 23rd, we are working hard to meet demand for the Valve Index and want to reassure everyone that Index systems will be available for purchase prior to the game's launch. However, the global Coronavirus health crisis has impacted our production schedules so we will have far fewer units for sale during the coming months compared to the volumes we originally planned. Our entire team is working hard right now to maximize availability. To receive a notification as soon as the Valve Index is back in stock, please visit Steam and click "Notify Me."

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Coronavirus: Valve Index Production Impacted, Fewer Units Coming Soon

Valve will have “far fewer” units of the Index VR hardware to sell during the coming months due to the impact of the Coronavirus. In a statement released to UploadVR, Valve confirmed it is working to meet demand for the high-end Valve Index VR headset and they are reassuring prospective

uploadvr.com

 

[AndrewDTF]

I feel like they just using this virus as an excuse for a small amout of produced Index units 🙄

 

[Mechaplum]

I feel like they just using this virus as an excuse for a small amout of produced Index units 🙄

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Lmao, you won't get that kinda talk here though :)

 

[entrydenied]

I feel like they just using this virus as an excuse for a small amout of produced Index units 🙄

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Yes everyone is using the virus as an excuse. In 2021, I'll be blaming the virus for whatever I failed to achieve in 2020. /s

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Didn't know they were producing them in Boston a.k.a Corona Virus central.

*please don't hit me, I'm joking*

 

[score01]

How can Sony keep getting away with this?

/s (just in case it wasn't obvious)

 

[Radishhead]

I can absolutely envision the coronavirus delaying the launch of PS5 and Xbox X. Our supply chains are already getting seriously impacted.

 

[newmoneytrash]

at this point i'm going to be really surprised if any new consoles release this year

 

[AndrewDTF]

Yes everyone is using the virus as an excuse. In 2021, I'll be blaming the virus for whatever I failed to achieve in 2020. /s

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I mean, Index was out of stock like month before that virus thing started

 

[Amauri14]

I honestly will be surprised if the PS5 and the Xbox X don't end up being affected too.

 

[Linus815]

I feel like they just using this virus as an excuse for a small amout of produced Index units 🙄

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i work with a european company that manufactures everything in china and we are having serious problems with getting our shipments on time, but hey i guess its all just pretend and fake news

 

[SuperSah]

It happens. Lives are more important than kids toys, after all.

 

[Kapten]

i work with a european company that manufactures everything in china and we are having serious problems with getting our shipments on time, but hey i guess its all just pretend and fake news

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The user is joking. Since that same argument is used in all the "Sony pulls out of event due to Coronavirus" - threads.

 

[.exe]

At first, I was a little confused since Valve makes these in their own local factory. Then I remembered the obvious part where they get their components from abroad, of course. It's unfortunate, but first and foremost I hope the communities most impacted by this illness recover. There will always be time to manufacture more things.

It's really wild to see that global production chains have such limited flexibility. We've seen this before, but it feels like these recent events have had more ripple effects than earlier examples.

 

[Brat-Sampson]

To be expected. Corona virus will have monumental ripple effect across many many industries over the next 6-12 months.

 

[clay_ghost]

Happy that lives are the priority. All these games and systems can be delayed as long as people are safe.

 

[snausages]

I feel like they just using this virus as an excuse for a small amout of produced Index units 🙄

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Our company is also having supply shortages from China. The economic impact of this thing is massive. Why do people think everyone everywhere is using it as an excuse?

 

[MikeProtagonist]

At first, I was a little confused since Valve makes these in their own local factory. Then I remembered the obvious part where they get their components from abroad, of course. It's unfortunate, but first and foremost I hope the communities most impacted by this illness recover. There will always be time to manufacture more things.

It's really wild to see that global production chains have such limited flexibility. We've seen this before, but it feels like these recent events have had more ripple effects than earlier examples.

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Everyone has slimmed down their production lines to minimise stock. So when something happens to supply, everything breaks down in a cascading effect. We'll definitely be seeing a huge economic effect when all is said and done.

 

[Deleted member 1476]

Our company is also having supply shortages from China. The economic impact of this thing is massive. Why do people think everyone everywhere is using it as an excuse?

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Because many people still think this a nothingburger, "more people die from the flu" levels of garbage takes.

 

[Johannes]

I feel like they just using this virus as an excuse for a small amout of produced Index units 🙄

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Eyyyy! Someone has been reading the PAX thread :D

 

[Grenchel]

We straight up banning people for making jokes about how stupid some of our members are?

 

[Johannes]

We straight up banning people for making jokes about how stupid some of our members are?

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It seems so.

I guess it's perfectly a-ok to make oblivious statements with a straight face than afterwards making fun of those hot takes.

 

[Kyougar]

We straight up banning people for making jokes about how stupid some of our members are?

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When does a statement become a joke and when is it said in earnest? The user didn't /s it. So it is their fault.

 

[AndrewDTF]

We straight up banning people for making jokes about how stupid some of our members are?

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Yeah, I was really surprised and super upset when I saw 3 day ban for that harmless joke. But looks like they changed it to warning.
Still feel very upset, I though you guys are friendly community. i still have no idea what member you talking about, I just though that its funny how Valve Index is out of stock for months and this article clicks together. That all, sorry if I somehow offended someone.

 

[jediyoshi]

I mean, Index was out of stock like month before that virus thing started

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Is the entirety of your knowledge about production lines based on inferences from looking at whether something is available or not to buy?

 

[LavaBadger]

Yeah, I was really surprised and super upset when I saw 3 day ban for that harmless joke. But looks like they changed it to warning.
Still feel very upset, I though you guys are friendly community. i still have no idea what member you talking about, I just though that its funny how Valve Index is out of stock for months and this article clicks together. That all, sorry if I somehow offended someone.

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Off topic, but you're missing the context here. These sort of recent announcement threads have been rife with actual conspiracy theory posts where people are genuinely claiming companies are using the coronavirus to cover for other things. I read your post and assumed you were joking, but the sad reality is, a fair number of posters over the last few days have not been joking.

 

[Papacheeks]

Is there anything other countries can do to help this epidemic with china? Or is this a thing where other countries are just going to wait for China to get this under control?

It's been impacting a lot of companies that I talk to for our ordering of equipment.

 

[NekoNeko]

Is there anything other countries can do to help this epidemic with china? Or is this a thing where other countries are just going to wait for China to get this under control?

It's been impacting a lot of companies that I talk to for our ordering of equipment.

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lots of countries are offering their support.
mainly by sending funds and supplies.

the medical community all over the world are exchanging information to help create a vaccine asap.

 

[LavaBadger]

Is there anything other countries can do to help this epidemic with china? Or is this a thing where other countries are just going to wait for China to get this under control?

It's been impacting a lot of companies that I talk to for our ordering of equipment.

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Best thing other countries can do right now is make sure they don't have their own outbreaks and work on vaccines. It doesn't seem at this stage that China needs aid, and they've imposed a lot of fairly stringent (Some very serious) containment procedures. I'm sure there's international collaboration on vaccine development.

 

[Papacheeks]

lots of countries are offering their support.
mainly by sending funds and supplies.

the medical community all over the world are exchanging information to help create a vaccine asap.

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I read though trials won't start until April. That's long time in terms of virus spread time.

Best thing other countries can do right now is make sure they don't have their own outbreaks and work on vaccines. It doesn't seem at this stage that China needs aid, and they've imposed a lot of fairly stringent (Some very serious) containment procedures. I'm sure there's international collaboration on vaccine development.

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It's crazy how fast this spread, and how it's impacted the tech industry gaming included. It goes to show you the worlds reliance on China and Asia region for the rest of the world.

You wonder if this will impact later gaming events like E3, GAMESCOM, TGS?

 

[Kyougar]

Yeah, I was really surprised and super upset when I saw 3 day ban for that harmless joke. But looks like they changed it to warning.
Still feel very upset, I though you guys are friendly community. i still have no idea what member you talking about, I just though that its funny how Valve Index is out of stock for months and this article clicks together. That all, sorry if I somehow offended someone.

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"It's a joke" only works if you mock the conspiracy theorists
and not joke about the whole situation.

 

[Soundchaser]

The world's supply chains became too centralized, I guess everyone will finally notice that now.

 

[Randomly Generated]

That's really unfortunate. They were going to sell a lot of units in February/March.