Valve was sued by Immersion Corporation for its game hardware device Steam Deck handheld and vibration feedback technology (Index rumble).
It is learned that Immersion is a tactile feedback company that has purchased, developed and accumulated a large number of patents on rumble technology, from which almost all large technology companies have obtained authorization or reached settlements, among which Sony and Microsoft are in litigation and After the settlement, both obtained a patent license from Immersion. Apple, Google, Motorola and Fitbit also reached settlements. Nintendo was not sued.
Now it’s accusing Valve of infringing its patents, including the Steam Deck handheld device, the Valve Index VR platform, SteamVR software and games like Half-Life: Alyx. (Not mentioning Valve’s obsolete Steam controller, which also uses a lot of vibration feedback)
Immersion is seeking damages, royalties, and an injunction “to prohibit the deployment, operation, maintenance, testing, and use of the alleged Steam Deck handheld and VR devices.” The company filed the lawsuit in U.S. federal court, Western District of Washington, on May 15, citing patents 7336260, 8749507, 9430042, 9116546, 10627907, 10665067 and 11175738.
There was no immediate response from Valve. The Steam Deck handheld topped Steam’s weekly bestseller list again last week, with sales of the handheld surpassing 1 million units.
