Why it matters to you
VR headsets are still pretty expensive, and while the Steam discounton the HTC Vive isn’t huge, it’s still enough to make the headset an enticing choice.
Usually, the Steam Summer Sale means you’ll be picking up a bunch of half-priced games to fill up your already overflowing backlog. This year, however, Steam is upping the ante by offering a discount on the HTC Vive. Yep, the $800 VR headset.
The HTC Vive is now available on the Steam store for $750 — that might not sound like a huge discount, but buyers will also receive a $50 Steam credit. So, if you were already planning on spending at least $50 on Steam games and have an extra $750 lying around, this is a pretty good deal. Plus, it comes bundled with Star Trek: Bridge Crew, Richie’s Plank Experience, and Everest VR, along with a free month of HTC’s Viveport subscription service.
For everyone else, however, it might not be a deep enough discount to justify purchasing the HTC Vive. The VR headset has met with some serious competition from the Oculus Rift now that both platforms have their own touch controllers, but the Vive remains at the top of its game. According to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, the HTC Vive is outselling the Oculus Rift 2-to-1, and this sale could push those numbers even higher.
There are still some pretty massive barriers to entry for most users, who will need a powerful PC to get the most out of the HTC Vive — plus a bunch of extra space to take advantage of the Vive’s room-scale VR experiences.
But with a growing catalog of games, including some high-profile entries like Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the Vive and its competitors — PlayStation VR and the Oculus Rift — are becoming more and more appealing to the average gamer. It’s with that in mind that the Steam Summer Sale also includes a number of popular VR games at a discont alongside the HTC Vive hardware.
The marked-down games currently up for grabs are all Vive Studios titles. They include Virtual Sports, Arcade Saga, Remembering Pearl Harbor, Knockout League, and Make VR.
So if you’ve been on the fence about VR, now would be a great time to get in on the action, but hurry up — the sale ends at 10 a.m. PT on July 5.