Valve just confirmed the Index VR headset is finished, and it's selling off the last units at a discount.
A Steam news post says the Index "is no longer being produced," with remaining headsets, controllers, and accessories available at reduced prices while supplies last. The headset itself drops from $499 to $399.20. Controllers and base stations aren't included. The old $999 full bundle is gone, and there's no discount for it because it no longer exists. Left controller replacements are $119.20, replacement tethers run $103.20, and right controllers aren't listed for sale at all.
This isn't really new information so much as Valve finally saying it out loud. Designer Lawrence Yang signaled last year that the Index had stopped shipping, and Valve's own framing ties the exit to the recently launched Steam Frame headset taking its place. For a headset that reviewers called the best VR option at launch, this is a clearance sale, not a send-off.
The Index arrived in April 2019, tethered to a PC, just months before the original Oculus Quest made cordless VR the thing to want. Seven years on, buying a wired headset with no controllers included is less a cheap piece of history and more a reminder of how fast VR's defaults moved on.