Valve Challenges Oculus with 'Dota 2' VR Headset

Virtual reality developers and enthusiasts alike recently gathered at the Boston VR Bender, where attendees were encouraged to experiment with the Unity game engine and build new software on the spot. One of the most intriguing finds from the meetup is Valve's 'Dota 2' headset, which provides Oculus Rift-type functionality with sharper displays and detailed motion tracking.

Reddit user jonomf documented his time with the Dota 2 (named after Valve's popular strategy title), noting that the headset provided "low persistence, perfect tracking [and a] very high frame rate." The black headset looks a bit bulkier than the Oculus Rift DK2, with a front panel that drops down to the user's mouth level. The white polka-dot design that spans the exterior isn't for show; Each IR-reflective dot is there for motion tracking purposes.

MORE: E3 Preview: What To Expect From Gaming's Big Expo

The Dota 2's dual vertical displays create a resolution of 2160 x 1280 pixels, which is crisper than the Oculus Rift's 1920 x 1080. The reddit user tested Valve's official VR demos, one of which let you hang out in a room with the characters from popular first-person puzzler "Portal 2." His only complaint was some physical disorientation after taking the device off. 

The Reddit post notes that the Dota 2 is a prototype with no official release currently planned. However, with E3 right around the corner and the virtual reality space growing consistently (Not to mention Valve's SteamOS ecosystem), we're hoping Valve has more VR goodness up its sleeve for the future.

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Michael Andronico

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.

  • erewrefds
    please change the sensationalist title to something else
    valve didnt challenge oculus
    how many times does valve need to say that they wont enter the hardware market
    they were the ones that helped Oculus in the first place
    the title is contradictory to everything valve did
    Reply
  • elcentral
    yeah, and why are you putting out specs from beta 2 for oculus, final product got 2560x1440 so the final product will be higer rez then dota 2 alpha vr headset is at this point in time how you can compare alpha products in the first place is like looking at the weather cast 3 days ahead, its a estimate at best.
    Reply
  • epaciga
    Just because a company says something, doesn't make it true. When Valve finally gives the greenlight for companies to release their steam machines, they're going to come out fully swinging: new controller (of course), Half Life 3, Team Fortress 3, Portal 3, Left 4 Dead 3, Dota 3, new Counter Strike, and quite possibly their own VR gear. Valve isnt trying to pussydick around: they want to own the PC gaming market - scratch that- gaming market.
    Reply
  • coolitic
    Stupid author, valve isn't challenging oculus. Stop trying to make misleading titles to get more views. We should be able to rate authors....
    Reply
  • kartu
    @Commenters above

    There is no VR helm out there yet. (Sony has a wearable TMZ series TV, for years, but that's not VR)
    So all VR helms in works are in alpha/beta stages.

    Device described in the article is NOT OCULUS RIFT!
    "Final product will have <mega super cool something>" equally applies to all of them.

    Unlike Facebook, which has god knows what plans for OR, both Sony (which, on top of it, has other related tech, like existing TMZ series, or move camera/controller) and Valve are into gaming.
    Reply
  • WithoutWeakness
    yeah, and why are you putting out specs from beta 2 for oculus, final product got 2560x1440 so the final product will be higer rez then dota 2 alpha vr headset is at this point in time how you can compare alpha products in the first place is like looking at the weather cast 3 days ahead, its a estimate at best.
    Oculus Rift doesn't have a "final product" yet. They're still in open pre-orders for the 2nd Developer Kit which only has 1080p resolution. There's no confirmed "final" version with 1440p resolution. Anything other than the specs of the DK2 are all rumors and speculation. As kartu stated there are no retail VR kits yet. Everything is still in Alpha/Beta stages.
    Reply