Steam Frame: Valve's VR headset brings classic gaming and VR closer together
Steam Frame is designed for wireless streaming of classic screen and VR games from a PC, but also runs without a PC connection thanks to its ARM chip.
After six and a half years, Valve is releasing a new, hybrid VR headset – and saying goodbye to the cable.
(Image: Valve)
Valve is launching a new headset for virtual reality computer games (VR). It's called Steam Frame and is characterized by its low weight. To ensure optimal PC streaming, Valve includes a USB wireless adapter that plugs into the PC.
The headset itself has two wireless modules: one receives image and sound from the PC and the wireless adapter via a dedicated 6 GHz channel, the other establishes the Wi-Fi connection to the home router. This allows the adapter to provide low latency and stable streaming without complicated network setup. The two eye-tracking cameras also capture where the user is looking, optimizing streaming accordingly to achieve particularly high image quality in the field of view.
In combination with a PC, Steam Frame supports the entire Steam library, including all SteamVR titles. The headset's controllers combine the input capabilities of a gamepad with those of a spatially tracked VR controller, thus ensuring compatibility with both gaming worlds. The controllers are each powered by a conventional AA battery, which according to the manufacturer offers up to 40 hours of battery life.
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Steam Frame runs on a VR version of SteamOS. For standalone operation, the VR headset uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphone chip and 16 GB of RAM. This processing power is naturally not enough for all games in the Steam library. For more graphically demanding titles or VR games like Half-Life: Alyx, a PC is still required. To highlight which screen games and VR titles run on the Steam Frame, Valve will expand the Deck Verified program with Steam Frame ratings before market launch.
Valve aims for a broader VR audience than before
In terms of display type and resolution, Steam Frame is roughly on par with the Meta Quest 3 with a 2160 x 2160 pixel LC display per eye. The field of view is also comparable. Like most modern VR headsets, Steam Frame uses pancake lenses. It supports refresh rates of up to 144 Hertz.
When it comes to passthrough, Valve is not keeping up with the times and is relying on monochrome cameras instead of RGB cameras. The focus is therefore clearly on classic gaming and VR, not on mixed reality. The cameras also serve for spatial tracking of the device. Two infrared LEDs also ensure that room tracking works reliably even in low light. Valve's older VR headset's external tracking system is not supported.
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At 440 grams, the Steam Frame is lighter than the competition: the Meta Quest 3 weighs 515 grams, and the Apple Vision Pro even up to 800 grams. The head strap contains two speakers in both arms and a rechargeable battery on the back. In the same place, there is also a USB port for wired operation or power bank use.
(Image:Â Valve)
It is not yet clear how much the Steam Frame will cost. However, based on its technical specifications, Valve is likely targeting the mid-price segment. Valve's last VR headset, the Valve Index, released in 2019, was a high-end device for its time and, with a price tag exceeding 1000 Euros, was clearly aimed at enthusiasts. The Steam Frame will be available in two storage variants: 256 GB and 1 TB. The storage can be expanded via microSD card.
Steam Frame will be released in early 2026, as will the new Steam Machine and the Steam Controller, which were also announced today.
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