Bigscreen ASKED HTC the question EVERY Lighthouse owner has been asking since Valve wound down the Index, and HTC gave a CAREFUL, HEDGED answer. In an October 17 buyer’s guide, Bigscreen quotes HTC: “If there is a plan to discontinue Steam VR Base Stations, we will ensure everyone is informed. However it is unlikely to happen at this time.” Bigscreen’s own next sentence is the one buyers should READ TWICE: “This isn’t a commitment.”
The reassurance also leans on a product list that is THINNER than the guide suggests. Bigscreen argues HTC still sells “quite a few products that rely on base stations, like the VIVE Pro 2, VIVE Tracker 3.0 and the VIVE wands.” On HTC’s US store on October 18, the VIVE Pro 2 page says the headset “is no longer available,” and the Tracker 3.0 listing is MARKED out of stock. Only the wands and the base station ITSELF are IN STOCK.
Why Base Stations Suddenly Matter
Valve said on October 13 that the Index is NO LONGER being produced and CUT the REMAINING headsets, controllers and accessories by 20 percent “while supplies last,” according to Road to VR and BestInXR. That sunset reaches FAR beyond Valve’s own headset, because the Index Base Station is NOT really an Index accessory. It is the room-tracking HARDWARE for the WHOLE SteamVR Lighthouse ecosystem: Vive trackers used for FULL-BODY tracking, THIRD-PARTY controllers, and headsets such as the Bigscreen Beyond 2.
Bigscreen is BLUNT about its DEPENDENCE. Its Beyond 2 product page says at least ONE base station is required, adding: “There is no way around that part.” Bigscreen sells NEITHER base stations NOR controllers. In the guide, it CALLS Valve’s controllers “important to our product” and CONCEDES that Bigscreen “doesn’t make controllers for its headset (…at least not yet, anyways).”
What HTC’s Store Actually Shows
On October 18, HTC’s US store listed the SteamVR Base Station 2.0 at $229 and IN STOCK, MATCHING Bigscreen’s figure. The 2018 VIVE Controller was $199 and also IN STOCK. The VIVE Tracker 3.0 was listed at $149, but the page’s product data marked it OUT OF STOCK. The VIVE Pro 2 page now STEERS shoppers to VIVE Focus Vision, which HTC describes as a headset that “requires no base stations.”
That REDIRECT is the more TELLING signal. HTC’s current headset pitch is built around NOT needing Lighthouse. The base station business that remains appears to SERVE the INSTALLED base and enterprise customers. Bigscreen names several of them: film studios on HTC’s VIVE Mars CamTrack, Brandenburg Labs’ Okeanos Pro headphones, and VR arenas. Those are REAL, PAYING buyers, but they are a reason to keep selling inventory, NOT a PUBLISHED product roadmap.
Price is the OTHER pressure. BestInXR read Valve’s discounted base station at $119.20 on October 14, against HTC’s $229. A two-station room therefore costs roughly $220 MORE once Valve’s stock is gone. Bigscreen’s guide adds that Valve’s US store now sells ONLY LEFT Index controllers at $119.20, while used pairs run about $500 to $560 and a lone RIGHT controller about $380 to $420, based on prices checked October 16.
Bigscreen’s Hedge: A 3DoF Mode
The most CONSEQUENTIAL line in the guide is NOT about HTC at all. Bigscreen says it is “working on a 3DoF mode for Beyond 2,” which would track which way the head TURNS but not where it MOVES, so owners can watch films or play flat games “without any base stations.” Bigscreen gave NO DATE. A rotation-only mode would NOT replace room-scale tracking, but it is the FIRST sign that the company is PLANNING for a world where Lighthouse is HARDER to buy.
Bigscreen repeated the HTC quote on X on October 18, a day after its original guide post passed 99,000 VIEWS. Replies SPLIT between RELIEF and demands that Bigscreen build its OWN controllers and base stations:
We asked HTC if they were discontinuing the Steam VR Base Stations and this is what they said:
— Bigscreen (@BigscreenVR) October 18, 2026
"If there is a plan to discontinue Steam VR Base Stations, we will ensure everyone is informed. However it is unlikely to happen at this time."
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The Metaverse Watcher Take
HTC’s statement is a promise of NOTICE, not a promise of SUPPLY. It commits HTC to telling customers before an exit, which is USEFUL, but it says NOTHING about how LONG production runs or at what PRICE. The two HTC Lighthouse products Bigscreen cited beyond the base station and wands are ALREADY OFF the shelf in the US. That makes the statement read as “not yet,” not as “not ever.”
For buyers, the practical math is SIMPLE. Anyone planning a Lighthouse room should price it at HTC’s $229 per station and TREAT Valve’s $119.20 stock as a BONUS while it lasts. Existing base stations, which work with Beyond 2 out of the box, are now the MOST valuable part of a PC VR setup. For Bigscreen, the 3DoF mode is a SENSIBLE hedge. The REAL test is whether it SHIPS before the tracking hardware its headset REQUIRES becomes a single-supplier, USED-MARKET problem.
Sources: Bigscreen, SteamVR Controllers and Base Stations for Bigscreen Beyond 2 (October 17, 2026); Bigscreen Beyond 2 product page; HTC VIVE US store pages for Base Station 2.0, Tracker 3.0 and VIVE Pro 2 (read October 18, 2026); Road to VR; BestInXR; @BigscreenVR on X.
Featured image: HTC VIVE headset and wand controllers, photo by PB (Temple of Mara) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.