Valve developed the HTC Vive virtual-reality headset in partnership with HTC.
HTC and Valve announced the Vive in 2015, and the consumer version was released in 2016. Valve supplied the SteamVR software and tracking technology, while HTC manufactured and marketed the headset and its related hardware.
The original Vive used two external base stations to track the headset and controllers across a room-scale play area. This helped distinguish it from early systems that primarily tracked head rotation or required users to remain seated.
The Vive is often confused with Valve’s later Index headset, which Valve developed and released under its own hardware branding. HTC also produced later Vive models independently or with other partners, but the original HTC Vive partnership is specifically associated with Valve and SteamVR.