March 9, 2020 The Valve Index is now in stock over on the Steam Store. However, it won't arrive for 6 – 9 weeks, depending on your location and how quickly you get in line.
Valve Index VR headsets are now back in stock on the Steam store page. Marking the Half-Life: Alyx's release date.
The Valve Index store page now lists the full Valve Index VR kit – with Base Stations, Valve Index Controllers, and the Valve Index headset – as available to order. However, it is not yet known how many units are available, or how long stock will last. Valve Index Controllers and headset and controller bundles are all available to order, however, Base Stations cannot be purchased independently at this time.
The Valve Index has been marked out-of-stock on the Steam Store since the end of 2019. The headset surged to the top of the PC VR sales charts in Q4, with 103K units to its name (according to data from SuperData), and falling just short of the standalone Oculus Quest and Sony's PSVR in overall VR headset sales. That's a momentous figure for tethered VR, especially high-end kit.
Marking the first return to the Half-Life series in over 10 years, Half-Life: Alyx has been a major catalyst to the Valve Index's surge in popularity. It's a VR-only title, and fans have been clamoring for VR gear in the lead up to the game's March 23, 2020 release date.
Valve is also keen to shift Index headsets with the promise of experiencing Half-Life: Alyx "with the exact hardware used in its development."
All Valve Index bundles, barring the individual Base Stations, come with Half-Life: Alyx included for free. Valve Index purchases are limited to one per customer.
If you're hoping to pick up a Valve Index, make sure to run the system specifications test available on Steam, or check your components against the requirements listed on the Half-Life: Alyx system requirements for all the details.
If you aren't successful in your expedition for a Valve Index today, or you can't wait for one to ship after Half-Life: Alyx, then all manner of PC VR headsets are compatible with the game, including: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
We're also hearing reports of difficulty going through the Steam checkout process – so good luck.