Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Half-Life: Alyx is giving the Valve Index a huge sales boost

Gabe Gurwin
By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Valve’s new Index VR headset is getting a significant sales boost thanks to the upcoming game Half-Life: Alyx. Valve sold approximately 103,000 Index headsets, a jump of over 100% over the previous quarter, according to Nielsen’s SuperData.

This made the Valve Index the best-selling PC VR headset of the quarter, outselling the substantially cheaper Oculus Rift S. At $1,000, the Valve Index is one of the most expensive headsets on the market, but it is on back-order after demand exceeded supply during the holidays.

Recommended Videos

Players won’t need a Valve Index to play Half-Life: Alyx, as it will run on other Steam-compatible headsets including the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. However, all Index purchases include a free copy of the game, and Valve Index is the most powerful Steam-compatible headset.

Related

Valve is hoping to have the Index back in stock in time for Half-Life: Alyx‘s launch, and the game’s announcement coincided with the headset’s sales boost. It will be the first Half-Life game to launch in over a decade, albeit not the elusive Half-Life 3 that fans have been asking for.

Half-Life: Alyx Announcement Trailer

Half-Life: Alyx occurs between the events of the first two games and stars Alyx Vance. It’s a full-length first-person shooter like the other non-VR Half-Life titles. Depending on its reception and fan support, Valve could also use the game to decide whether to continue producing more Half-Life games. Based on the memes, however, it’s pretty clear players want a third traditional game.

As with nearly all Valve games, Half-Life: Alyx will be available exclusively through Steam. The service is a juggernaut among digital game stores today, and its success can be traced directly to the Half-Life series when Half-Life 2 launched in 2004 on Steam. Half-Life 2 is still considered one of the best video games ever made and its mandatory Steam connectivity encouraged naysayers to give the new service a try.

In celebration of Half-Life: Alyx‘s impending release, the entire series is currently available to play for free on Steam through the game’s launch in March, though no final date has been revealed.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Valve will sell ‘far fewer’ Index VR headsets due to coronavirus outbreak
Valve Index HMD release date store page leak june 2019 controller base station

The outbreak of coronoavirus, officially called Covid-19, has been the cause of a range of issues in the tech world, from the canceling of MWC to Apple announcing it is unlikely to meet its quarterly forecasts. Now, it is impacting the production of hardware as well, with Valve announcing that it will have "far fewer" units of its Index VR headset available to purchase.

“With Half-Life: Alyx coming on March 23, 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,” a Valve spokesperson said in a statement given to Road to VR. “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.”

Read more
Half-Life: Alyx — Everything you need to know
Half-Life: Alyx

Just when all hope appeared to be lost for the Half-Life series, Valve shocked fans by revealing Half-Life: Alyx in November. Even more surprising? The game will be a full virtual reality experience, with Valve positioning it as a flagship release. Initial skepticism about the game being a VR exclusive was quickly quelled by the game’s impressive launch trailer, which teased a full-fledged Half-Life game filled with familiar enemies and mechanics. Expectations couldn’t be higher as many players anticipate that the game may be VR’s first true killer app. Here’s everything we know about Half-Life: Alyx.

Half-Life: Alyx Announcement Trailer
Release date and platforms
Valve announced that the game will be available on March 23. Players can pre-purchase the game on Steam now for $60.

Read more
Half-Life: Alyx release date set for March 23, but Valve Index remains sold out
Half-Life: Alyx

Valve has revealed a March 23 release date for Half-Life: Alyx, the series' first foray into virtual reality, but the company's Index headset is still sold out practically everywhere.

Half-Life: Alyx, as its title suggests, will allow players to play as Alyx Vance, who was first seen in Half-Life 2. The game's events will take place between the first Half-Life and the sequel, when the alien race known as the Combine is already in control of the Earth, with the human population being rounded up.

Read more