Valve made a triumphant return to the hardware market with the Steam Deck and its oled aughpart, and now it has another crack at Virtual with a frame. The Steam frame is a long raised head from the valve that used to be released with the codenary “destkard.
The company also announced a new Steam and PC controller called the Steam Machine. All three devices are coming in early 2026. Valve is holding off on announcing pricing and exact availability of the new hardware. There are a number of Steam Frame Dev Kits available to developers.
Valve says the Steam framework is a wireless headset, “streaming-first” and you can pledge to your games as soon as you open them. It supports VR and Flatscreen games. This company has made a plug-and-play 6GHZ wireless adapter that you plug into your PC (or Steam machine). It has a Dual-Radio setup to help reduce interference, with one radio dedicated to streaming audio and head-up viewing, and the other to Wi-Fi.
A standalone VR headset
But you don’t need a PC to play games on Steam Frame. As with the Meta Quest Headsets, it can serve as a standalone device for gaming.
The headset has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chipset, 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of built-in UFS storage. There is a microSD card slot, as well as support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. Of course, the headset is powered by Seasons. As with Steam Text and Steam Machine, there will be a confirmed Steam Frame program, so you can see at a glance which games will work on Steam Frame in Standalone mode.
In addition, the Steam framework will support Android games. It seems like Valve is hoping that developers making gaming and VR experiences for Android-based headsets (like the Meta Quest LineUp) will get them into the groove.
The Steam frame is powered by a 21.6H Li-ion rechargeable battery. There is one USB-C 2.0 port on the back for both charging and data transfer. You can recharge the battery at a rate of up to 45w. It’s not fair how long the Steam Frame battery will last.
The battery is located behind the headstrap. So you won’t have to have an external battery pack attached to the system with an annoying cable. It will be possible to exchange the standard head (where the audio drivers are integrated) with a different option, maybe one with a bigger battery.
Even with the battery built into the headstrap, the valve means the Steam frame weighs less than a pound at 440 grams. The main module – the front part – 185 grams (6.5oz) and the headstrap weighs 245 grams (8.6 ounces).
Ease of use technology
The Steam framework has a handy feature called clean streaming. VALVE says this uses low-latency eye tracking (powered by two internal cameras) to capitalize on the image where your eyes are looking. The company says it can offer “a 10x improvement in image quality and bandwidth efficiency.” The modified stream is said to apply to every game in your Steam Library.
The headset has Dual 2160 x 2160 LCD panels with refresh rates up to 144hz, a field of view of up to 110 degrees and an IPD Target range of 60mm to 70mm to 70mm to 70mm. Valve added that “thin and light pancake lenses provide edge-free sharpness and a large eyebox.” The company says the maximum diameter of the glasses is 140mm.
As for the sound, the Steam frame has two stereo speakers on each side with high fidelity audio support. Valve says the speakers on each side “are oriented in different directions to cancel out motion,” which can affect the tracking system.
Speaking of which, the headset has four high-definition monochrome cameras for control and tracking with the headset – the Steam frame uses internal tracking. Valve says there are non-frame LEDs on the accessory that can help support tracking in dark areas. There is monochrome support as well.
It is closed
Steam frame controllers
Naturally, you’ll need a way to play all the games, so the headset comes with Steam frame controls. The headset tracks the positions of controllers for VR games, with full 6-DOF tracking and IMU support. They have a different gamePad format with D-pad, thumbs, abxy buttons, triggers and bumpers. They’re designed to work with your entire Steam library, and they certainly look more intuitive than the PlayStation VR2 controllers.
Instead of going down the hall route, the valve chose the thumbs of the magnetic force, which supports the tracking of the capacitive finger. Each controller is said to run for about 40 hours before you need to replace the powerful AA battery. If you can play games on Steam Framener and the new Steam Controller, you will be able to do that.
The Steam frame is far from the first VR headset. It released the valve guide in 2019, and previously worked with HTC on its top, first VR products before HTC shifted its focus to business and enterprise.
While there aren’t any of Valve’s Pec-Focused PC-focused games IS still a working platform, not that Sony’s Release Calendar is bringing it back), the company is looking at what might be Medium’s FREE ORIGINAL Half-Life: alyx. And with Stolos on the Steam deck being a hit once they begged Valve to allow them to put it in their opponents’ fields, it’s easy to think of a big contender for Meta Quech.
