Valve's new VR headset, Steam Frame, starts at $1059/€1049 and jumps to $1299/€1279 for the higher-capacity model. Half-Life: Alyx is not ready.
Excitement has faded since Valve announced its entry into the game console and VR headset markets. Surging memory chip prices have forced the company to scale back its launch plans, initially delaying the products by 5-7 months.
Steam Frame and the accompanying VR controllers. Photo: Valve
So what do you get? Steam Frame connects wirelessly to a powerful PC running VR games from Steam, but it can also run certain games directly on the headset's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. Inside are low-contrast LCD panels with 2160x2160 pixels per eye at up to 144Hz, essentially HD-class. This is comparable to the Meta Quest 3, but falls far short of the 4K OLED display quality offered by the Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR.
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Steam Frame is designed for gaming and runs SteamOS. Games can be controlled using Valve's bundled VR controllers or standard controllers. The strap has built-in speakers while the headset uses inside-out tracking and weighs 440 grams including the strap.
'Half-Life: Alyx' coming later
Valve confirms that Half-Life: Alyx is coming to Steam Frame, but it is not ready for the headset's launch. It will be a standalone VR version running directly on the Snapdragon 8 chip. The game is coming "soon", according to Valve.
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Steam Frame is not the launch Valve and VR fans had hoped for. It does not set new standards for VR technology and is unlikely to ignite the stagnant market, but it does sharpen the competition and strengthen Valve's position against PlayStation and Xbox in the battle to create a more cohesive gaming ecosystem across PC, mobile devices and headsets.
