What you need to know
- The HTC Vive Cosmos Elite can now be purchased as a headset-only option for $549.
- Each Vive Cosmos Elite comes with a copy of Half-Life: Alyx and six months of Viveport Infinity for a limited time.
- Shipping is expected in early April but depends on supply chain availability.
HTC is adding another spoke to its Vive Cosmos wheel, and this time it's aimed directly at existing HTC Vive owners who are just looking for a headset upgrade. The HTC Vive Cosmos Elite, HTC's highest-end SKU of the Vive Cosmos family, can now be purchased as a headset-only option for $549 and will be shipping in early April. As a bonus, HTC will be including a free code of Half-Life: Alyx, which you can redeem directly through Steam, as well as six months of HTC's Viveport Infinity service, which is widely considered to be the Netflix of VR.
The HTC Vive Cosmos Elite differs from other HTC Vive Cosmos SKUs because it supports SteamVR tracking, which means it works perfectly with every other SteamVR product on the market. This gives current HTC Vive owners an excellent upgrade path because they'll be able to use accessories like the HTC Vive Wireless Adapter, and it also gives the freedom to upgrade the controllers separately to something like Valve Index Knuckles, for instance.
This headset-only SKU comes before HTC will begin selling the Cosmos Elite faceplate separately, which will retail for $199 and will give existing Valve Cosmos owners a way to integrate their Vive Cosmos into the SteamVR tracking family. You can find the release schedule in the image above. HTC says its going to try its hardest to meet these expected dates but there's always a potential for delay given the global supply chain issues at this time.
Regardless of how you get a Vive Cosmos Elite, every Cosmos Elite supports both SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 tracking stations, so folks with extra-large play spaces (or VR arcades) can utilize those SteamVR 2.0 tracking stations to create an unbelievably large roomscale tracking space. Each Vive Cosmos Elite ships with the same high-resolution 2880 x 1700 resolution RGB-stripe display for ultra-crisp visuals in VR, as well as the unique flip-up design that can help players switch between virtual reality and actual reality without taking the headset off. It also makes cleaning the headset off during those heavy Beat Saber sessions significantly easier.
Which HTC Vive Cosmos should you buy?
The Vive life
The HTC Vive Wireless Adapter works with every single HTC Vive on the market, whether it's the original HTC Vive, the HTC Vive Pro, or the new HTC Vive Cosmos. It's wireless VR with the power of a PC.
