Celebrating a triumphant return to the hardware market with the Steam Deck and its OLED counterpart, Valve once again ventures into virtual reality steam loom. The Steam Frame is Valve’s much-debated headset, formerly known as “Deckard”.
The company also announced a new Steam controller and PC called the Steam Machine. All three devices will arrive in early 2026. Valve is reluctant to reveal the exact price and availability of the new hardware. Steam Frame SDKs are available to developers.
According to Valve, the Steam Frame is a “streaming first” wireless headset that lets you jump into your games as soon as you put it on. Supports virtual reality and flat screen gaming. The company has developed a plug-and-play 6GHz Wi-Fi adapter that you can connect to your PC (or Steam machine). To minimize interference, it has a dual radio setup: one radio dedicated to streaming audio and video to the headphones and the other for Wi-Fi.
A standalone virtual reality headset
However, you don’t need a PC to play on Steam Frame. Like the Meta Quest headset, the games can work as a standalone device.
The headphones have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of built-in UFS storage. There is a microSD card slot and support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. Naturally, the headset runs on SteamOS. As with Steam Deck and Steam Machine, a Steam Frame checker will be available so you can see at a glance which games are running in standalone mode on Steam Frame.
Also Steam Frame will be compatible with Android games. Valve is apparently hoping that developers who have created VR games and experiences for Android-based headsets (like the Meta Quest series) will bring them to Steam.
The Steam Frame is powered by a 21.6 Wh rechargeable lithium-ion battery. On the back there is a USB-C 2.0 port that you can use for both charging and data transfer. You can charge the battery with an output of up to 45W. It’s unclear how long the Steam Frame’s battery will last on a single charge.
The battery is on the back of the headband. Thus, it is not necessarily necessary to connect an external battery to the system via an annoying cable. It will be possible to replace the standard headband (in which the audio controls are integrated) with another option, perhaps with a larger battery.
Even with the battery built into the headband, the Steam Frame weighs just under 440 grams, according to Valve. The central module, the front one, weighs 185 grams (6.5 ounces) and the headband weighs 245 grams (8.6 ounces).
Image optimization technology.
Steam Frame has an optimization feature called Foveated Streaming. Valve says it uses low-latency eye tracking (powered by two internal cameras) to optimize image detail wherever your eyes look. The company claims it can provide “a 10x improvement in image quality and effective bandwidth.” Foveated Streaming is designed to work with any game in your Steam library.
The headset features dual 2160 x 2160 LCD panels with refresh rates of up to 144Hz, a field of view of up to 110 degrees and an IPD target range of 60mm to 70mm. Valve added that “custom, thin and light pancake lenses provide edge-to-edge clarity and plenty of eye space.” The company claims the maximum width of the glasses is 140mm.
In terms of audio, the Steam Frame has two stereo speakers on both sides that support high-fidelity audio. According to Valve, the speakers on both sides point “in opposite directions to dampen vibrations” that could affect the tracking system.
By the way: the headset is equipped with four high-resolution monochrome cameras to track the controller and the headset; Steam Frame uses inside-out tracking. According to Valve, infrared LEDs on the outside of the device can make tracking in dark environments easier. There is also monochrome passthrough support.
Steam Loom controls
Of course, you need a way to play all the games. That’s why the headset comes with a pair of Steam Frame controllers. The headset tracks controller positions for VR games with full 6 DOF tracking and IMU support. They have a split gamepad format with D-pad, joysticks, ABXY buttons, triggers and bumpers. They’re designed to work with your entire Steam library and are definitely a bit more intuitive than the PlayStation VR2 controllers.
Instead of going the Hall effect route, Valve opted for magnetic controls that support capacitive finger tracking. Each controller should run for about 40 hours before the AA battery that powers it needs to be replaced. If you prefer to play in Steam Frame with the new Steam Controller, it is absolutely possible.
The Steam Frame is far from Valve’s first virtual reality headset. The company launched Valve Index in 2019 and has already worked with HTC on its Vive headset, which initially consisted of consumer virtual reality products before HTC shifted its focus to businesses and enterprises.
Although none of Valve’s previous PC headsets have had the overall influence of the Meta’s Quest series, or possibly the PlayStation VR (which is true in all respects). This (it is still an active platform, although Sony’s release schedule does not confirm this), the company is responsible for what is possibly the best game of all time in this medium. Half-life: Alyx. And since SteamOS on Steam Deck has been so successful that other companies are practically begging Valve to integrate it into their own competing laptops, it’s easy to imagine Steam Frame becoming a serious competitor to Meta Quest.
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