Valve
| Valve | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Video Games Digital Distribution Computer Hardware |
| Founded | August 24, 1996 |
| Founder | Gabe Newell Mike Harrington |
| Headquarters | Bellevue, Washington, U.S. |
| Notable Personnel | Gabe Newell |
| Products | Steam SteamVR Valve Index Half-Life |
| Website | https://www.valvesoftware.com/ |
Valve Corporation (known as Valve, and formerly Valve Software) is an American video game developer, publisher, and digital distribution company. It was founded on August 24, 1996 by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington in Kirkland, Washington, and is now headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.[1] The company is best known for the Steam digital distribution service, the Half-Life and Portal game series, and a substantial role in consumer Virtual Reality through SteamVR, the HTC Vive, and the Valve Index.
History
Newell and Harrington both worked at Microsoft for over a decade before leaving to found the company; Newell had spent his time there working on Windows, including the Windows port of id Software's Doom. They used personal wealth from Microsoft stock options to finance the new venture, and incorporated Valve on August 24, 1996.[1] Harrington sold his stake to Newell in 2000, leaving Newell as the primary owner of the privately held company.[1]
Valve's debut title, the first-person shooter Half-Life, was released in 1998 to critical and commercial acclaim and became highly influential within the genre.[1] The company moved its headquarters from Kirkland to Bellevue, Washington in 2003, and in 2016 leased a nine-floor space in the Lincoln Square complex in downtown Bellevue.[1]
Steam
- Main article: Steam
Steam launched on September 12, 2003. It was originally created as a client to deliver automatic patches and updates to Valve's own online games, and was later expanded to distribute third-party titles beginning in late 2005.[2] Steam grew into the dominant PC games storefront and the platform on which Valve's later virtual reality and hardware efforts are built.
Virtual reality
Valve unveiled SteamVR, its Virtual Reality platform, and the HTC Vive, its first VR Headset, in March 2015 during Mobile World Congress and the Game Developers Conference. The Vive was developed in cooperation with the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer HTC, and the two companies did not maintain a clear dividing line in research and development responsibilities.[3] The first-generation consumer Vive was released on April 5, 2016 following pre-orders that opened on February 29, 2016.[3]
SteamVR and OpenVR
- Main article: SteamVR
SteamVR is Valve's runtime and platform for PC-based virtual reality, accessed through Steam. It is built on OpenVR, an API and runtime released publicly by Valve on April 30, 2015 that allows applications to access virtual reality hardware from multiple vendors without needing specific knowledge of the underlying device.[4] Because SteamVR and OpenVR are vendor-neutral, a range of headsets from different manufacturers can run SteamVR content.
Lighthouse tracking
- Main article: Lighthouse
Valve developed the Lighthouse positional tracking system for SteamVR and the HTC Vive. Lighthouse is a laser-based, outside-in system: fixed Base Stations placed in the room emit structured infrared light, and arrays of IR photosensors embedded in the headset and controllers read that light to compute their own position and orientation in real time. This enables room-scale experiences in which the user can freely walk around the tracked space rather than remaining stationary in front of a camera.[5] Valve licenses the SteamVR Tracking technology to third-party hardware makers, on a royalty-free basis, so that other companies can build compatible headsets and peripherals.[6]
Valve Index
- Main article: Valve Index
The Valve Index is Valve's own PC-tethered VR headset, announced on April 30, 2019 and released on June 28, 2019 at an introductory price of US$999 for the full kit.[7] It uses two 1440x1600 LCD displays with full RGB per pixel, supports refresh rates of 80, 90, 120, and 144 Hz, offers a field of view of roughly 108 degrees, and provides an IPD adjustment range of 58 to 70 mm.[7] The Index relies on Lighthouse 2.0 base stations for tracking and is backward compatible with HTC Vive and Vive Pro controllers and base stations through SteamVR.[7]
The headset ships with the Valve Index Controllers, originally known as "Knuckles." Each controller includes a thumbstick, a touchpad, two face buttons, a menu button, a trigger, and an array of 87 sensors that track hand position, individual finger position, motion, and pressure. A retention strap holds the controller to the hand so the user can fully open their hand and still hold the device, enabling natural grab-and-release interactions.[7] Valve discontinued the Index on November 12, 2025.[7]
Half-Life: Alyx
Half-Life: Alyx is a virtual reality first-person shooter developed and published by Valve. It was released for Windows on March 23, 2020, with Linux support following on May 15, 2020, and supports most PC-compatible VR headsets. The game was provided free to owners of Valve Index headsets or controllers. Set before the events of Half-Life 2, it follows Alyx Vance and was widely praised as a landmark VR title, winning "Best VR/AR" at the 2020 Game Awards.[8]
Steam Frame
On November 12, 2025, Valve announced the Steam Frame, a standalone, "streaming-first" VR headset positioned as a successor to the Valve Index and targeted for an early 2026 launch. It runs the Linux-based SteamOS, uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset with 16 GB of RAM, and employs inside-out tracking via four grayscale cameras. A dedicated wireless adapter lets the headset stream games from a gaming PC, and Valve has stated it aims to sell the Steam Frame for less than the US$1,000 Index full kit.[9]
Products and timeline
| Year | Product | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Valve Corporation founded | Founded by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington in Kirkland, Washington[1] |
| 1998 | Half-Life | Debut first-person shooter; critical and commercial success[1] |
| 2003 | Steam | Digital distribution client launched September 12, 2003[2] |
| 2015 | SteamVR / OpenVR | VR platform and Vive prototype unveiled March 2015; OpenVR SDK released April 30, 2015[3][4] |
| 2016 | HTC Vive | PC VR headset co-developed with HTC; consumer model released April 5, 2016[3] |
| 2019 | Valve Index | Valve's own PC VR headset; released June 28, 2019 at US$999[7] |
| 2020 | Half-Life: Alyx | VR-exclusive first-person shooter released March 23, 2020[8] |
| 2025 | Steam Frame | Standalone "streaming-first" VR headset announced November 12, 2025[9] |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Valve Corporation". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Steam (service)". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(service).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "HTC Vive". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Vive.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "OpenVR". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVR.
- ↑ "Valve's Lighthouse Base Station in Action, Inner Workings Explained". https://www.roadtovr.com/valves-lighthouse-base-station-action-inner-workings-explained/.
- ↑ "Valve Opens Vive's Tracking Tech to Third-parties for Free, Details Dev Kit for Licensees". https://www.roadtovr.com/valve-third-party-lighthouse-api-steamvr-tracking-htc-vive-dev-kit-license-royalty/.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "Valve Index". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Index.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Half-Life: Alyx". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life:_Alyx.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Valve Officially Announces Steam Frame, A "Streaming-First" Standalone VR Headset". 2025-11-12. https://www.uploadvr.com/valve-steam-frame-official-announcement-features-details/.