If there was ever a developer-game combination that would generate mainstream interest in the largely niche circles of VR, Valve and Half-Life had to be it- and sure, enough, the upcoming Half-Life: Alyx has been doing exactly that. Valve Index, the company’s VR headset, has been sold out pretty much since the day the shooter was announced, and a new report by SuperData sheds some more light on just how strong those sales have been.
According to SuperData, Valve Index’s lifetime sales stood at roughly 46,000 units at the end of the third quarter of 2019. Buoyed by Half-Life: Alyx’s announcement in November, those numbers saw a sudden and significant spike, and by the end of the year, its sales had climbed to a total of 149,000 units, having sold 103,000 units during the fourth quarter. Had the headset not been sold out everywhere, that number likely would have been higher- and this is in spite of its $1000 price tag.
That said, the PlayStation VR was still the highest selling virtual reality headset of the year’s fourth and final quarter, selling 338,000 units in the three month period. It was followed by Oculus Quest, leading Valve Index by a large margin, with 317,000 units sold during Q4 (and an impressive total of 705,000 units throughout the entire year). Oculus Go and Oculus Rift S rounded out the top 5 for Q4, trailing the Valve Index.
It’s more than likely that once Half-Life: Alyx is out – and assuming Valve have sorted out the stock shortages – the Valve Index will continue to post impressive sales figures- perhaps even more impressive than the ones mentioned here.
Half-Life: Alyx is out for PC – with support for Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality – in March, and Valve are confident that they will hit that release date. Though nothing is confirmed yet, they haven’t ruled out a PS4 release for the shooter either. Meanwhile, up until Alyx’s launch, you can play all previous Half-Life titles away for free on Steam, so make sure to catch up on the series.
