Coronavirus will impact Valve Index availability ahead of Half-Life: Alyx release

Coronavirus will impact Valve Index availability ahead of Half-Life: Alyx release
PHOTO: Valve

With the seemingly unstoppable wave of the Covid-19/Coronavirus infections around the world, nothing is safe from the virus' reach, not even our beloved geeky stuff. Now, we can add one more to the list with Valve and the Valve Index.

In light of Half-Life: Alyx releasing next month, a report on UploadVR has stated that the sickness will lead to shortages of the virtual reality headset. Valve has maintained that the Index will still be available for purchase before the game's release, the stocks after will likely be much smaller.

"Our entire team is working hard right now to maximise availability," Valve explained. The company is also encouraging fans to sign up for notifications on Steam to be the first to know when stocks are in.

"With Half-Life: Alyx coming March 23rd, we are working hard to meet demand for the Valve Index and want to reassure everyone that Index systems will be available for purchase prior to the game's launch."

"However, the global Coronavirus health crisis has impacted our production schedules so we will have far fewer units for sale during the coming months compared to the volumes we originally planned. Our entire team is working hard right now to maximise availability. To receive a notification as soon as the Valve Index is back in stock, please visit Steam and click 'Notify Me.'"

Valve is just one of the many companies with manufacturing done in China, and it is definitely understandable that shortages will be happening.

However, with the next-gen consoles coming later in 2020, both Sony and Microsoft have so far not put out a statement regarding the situation. All we can do, is wait and see.

Half-Life: Alyx will arrive next month on 23 March, exclusively for PC via Steam.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.

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