The day all VR fans have been waiting for has arrived: Valve has officially released details for its highly anticipated headset. Called Steam Frame, the new VR headset is a standalone device set to arrive in 2026, and it’s bristling with features, including a focus on streaming.
What is Steam Frame?
Steam Frame is the long-awaited follow-up to the Valve Index. Released six years ago, the tethered headset was one of the best available at the time, but in recent years began to show its age. Primarily for two reasons; firstly, it was tethered to a PC, whilst modern devices like Meta Quest 3 and Pico 4 Ultra are standalone. Secondly, the Index required external sensors (Lighthouse Base Stations) in order to track the headset and controllers.
Steam Frame does away with both, with four headset-mounted, monochrome cameras to track a user’s position and controllers. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Series 8 Gen 3 chipset with 16GB of Unified LPDDR5 RAM, a rear-mounted Lithium-ion battery and onboard storage (256GB or 1TB depending on the model), you can easily store your Steam games when going on the road.
As for some of the other specs the Steam Frame is packing, it features dual 2,160 × 2,160 LCD displays, providing 72-120Hz refresh (144Hz experimental), a field of view (FOV) of 110 degrees (horizontal & vertical), as well as eye-tracking and pancake optics. There’s even a user-accessible expansion port on the front and expandable storage via a microSD card slot.
All running natively on SteamOS, the same Linux-based operating system used in the Steam Deck.
And let’s not forget about the controllers! As you may have noticed from the above image, the controllers look similar to Quest’s, albeit with a few key differences. Primarily, on the right controller, you’ve got all the A/B/X/Y buttons, while on the left, there’s a D-pad. Why, you may ask? For compatibility. Whether you’re playing a VR game or a non-VR game, the controllers can work with your entire Steam library.
Valve Goes ‘Streaming-First’
Talking of games, it’s likely that your Steam library is massive and won’t completely fit on the headset. Furthermore, while the Snapdragon Series 8 Gen 3 is a powerful chipset (approximately 25% more than the XR2 Gen 2 chipset in Quest 3), that might not be enough for some of the most demanding VR titles.
Surprisingly, you can’t tether the headset as there are no HDMI or DisplayPort inputs. Hence why Valve has said the Steam Frame has been designed to provide a “high quality streaming-first experience”. The headset features a dual Wi-Fi antenna (6GHz & 5GHz) and a Wi-Fi 6E dongle in the box. The dongle will allow a direct, wireless connection to a PC for streaming games, while the 5GHz antenna will connect to a router.
Additionally, streaming via the PC adaptor will enable “Foveated Streaming”, using the headset’s eye tracking to focus bandwidth wherever the user is looking. Thus unlocking the best games in your Steam library for use on Steam Frame.
Valve Steam Frame Price & Release Date
While we already know a lot about Valve’s new Steam Frame, the two details still to be revealed are the price and the exact release date. Valve has teased some details regarding both questions, however. Firstly, the price will be less than the Valve Index. While the 2019 headset retailed for $500 USD on its own, the ‘Full-Kit’, including base stations, retailed for $1000. It’ll be that later that Steam Frame will be under. By how much, we’ll have to wait and see.
As for the release date, that’s just as ambiguous, expected to launch in “early 2026”. Considering Valve Index launched on 30th April 2019, a similar Spring arrival might be on the cards.
Are you looking forward to the Steam Frame? Do you still own a Valve Index and wish to upgrade? Let us know in the comments.
