After almost 2 years of waiting, Australian customers will finally be able to purchase the Valve Index from August 18.
The headset and controllers will be available in Australia through games retailer EB Games, an Australian division of GameStop. In other markets, the Index is available to purchase online through Valve directly on the Steam Store. When Australian customers visit the Steam store listing, the checkout buttons read ‘Not Available In Your Country’. This forced many customers to use shipping redirect services to import the headset from the US. However, this comes with large added costs, as well as complications with warranty and customs import fees.
For now, the store listings seem to indicate that EB Games will be the Index’s exclusive Australian retailer. It’s unclear if it will also be available through the Steam Store come August 18.
In Australia, the complete Index kit is available to pre-order for $1,899.95 AUD. The headset by itself is available for $999 AUD, the headset and controllers for $1499.95 AUD, a single base station for $249.95 and a 2-pack of controllers for $499.95. The Index and its peripherals are modular, allowing you to use parts of the system with select other, non-Index hardware within the SteamVR ecosystem. For example, the Index controllers can be used with an existing room-scale setup and Vive Pro headset. Likewise, the Index headset can be used with old Vive wand controllers. Those with an existing PC VR setup may be able to cut some costs depending on the equipment they already have.
Valve also announced that individual replacement controllers and tether wires are available to purchase on Steam as of this week. However, these replacement items are unavailable in Australia via Steam at the moment, and are not listed on EB Games either.
The Valve Index remains a solid but expensive pick if you’re looking to get into PC VR. If you’re not sure if it’s the right headset for you, read our thoughts on the pros and cons of the Index and other available options here.
Are any of our Australian readers planning on picking up a Valve Index in August? Let us know in the comments.
