Valve has been sued by haptic feedback company Immersion Corporation over the use of rumble in the Steam Deck and the Valve Index VR headset.
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As pointed out by The Verge, Immersion claims that Valve has infringed on its patents for haptic technology (of which there are many) with the Steam Deck and Valve Index, which incorporate rumble technology and support titles with haptic feedback features.
Specifically, the company claims that Valve “is exploiting Immersion’s innovation and success by selling and otherwise exploiting video game systems, controllers, games and applications that infringe Immersion’s patents.”.
He also claims that the presence of haptic technology in both the Steam Deck and Valve Index provides users with a “richer and more immersive” experience.
Immersion is seeking damages, copyright and injunctive relief that would prevent Valve from “developing, operating, maintaining, testing and using the Defendant Portable Devices and the Defendant VR Devices (Steam Index).”
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The company filed its lawsuit on Monday in federal court, specifically in the Western District of Washington, citing patents 7,336,260, 8,749,507, 9,430,042, 9,116,546, 10,627,907, 10,665,067 and 11,175,738.
This isn't the first time Immersion has targeted a major hardware manufacturer, with the company having previously sued Sony, Microsoft, Google, and Apple. All four of those companies settled with Immersion.
Although Nintendo has not been sued by the licensee, the Japanese company signed a deal with Immersion to bring its technology to the Switch.
It's still early days for Valve when it comes to the Steam Deck - the console only debuted in February 2022 - but analysts predict that the handheld will have sold over 3.5 million units by the end of 2023.
Read also: Valve: The Steam Deck Docking Station is finally available
source of information: gamedeveloper.com
