{"id":815200,"date":"2026-07-20T23:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T23:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/815200\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T23:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T23:59:12","slug":"steam-frame-release-is-being-held-up-by-valve-as-its-still-finishing-gamepad-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/815200\/","title":{"rendered":"Steam Frame release is being held up by Valve as it’s still finishing \u2018Gamepad Mode\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Steam<\/a>(Credit: Valve)\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfae Valve has been putting the finishing touches to Steam Frame\u2019s \u201cGamepad Mode\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc4d This comes with a new SteamVR beta that allows normal gamepads with the Steam Frame\u2019s window manager and playing non-VR games on the headset<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd32 We know this is possible as the headset\u2019s first certified game was Portal 2, a standard 2D game<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd1c All of this points to an imminent release of the headset, especially with the amount of shipments Valve has been getting for headsets and controllers<\/p>\n

While all of the recent news we\u2019ve heard points to a seemingly imminent launch for the Steam Frame, a new update may explain why we\u2019ve been waiting so long.<\/p>\n

As per insider Bradley Lynch AKA @SadlyItsBradley on X<\/a>, data mining the new SteamVR Beta update shows that Valve is finishing up the headset\u2019s \u201cGamepad Mode\u201d, presumably in prep for the headset\u2019s full release.<\/p>\n

This is designed primarily for using standard gamepads with the Steam Frame\u2019s window manager and for playing non-VR games with the headset. The data mining also concludes that \u201cGamepad Mode\u201d has its own UX.<\/p>\n

Reportedly, the new Steam Controller can also be fully tracked, and it works optionally for the Steam Frame\u2019s own motion controllers.<\/p>\n

Valve has been busy in the backend certifying a wide range of games for use with the Steam Frame, as demonstrated by the recently launched new category for \u2018Great on Frame\u2019 games<\/a> that includes titles such as Ancient Dungeons and Titan Isles.<\/p>\n

Likewise, with Portal 2, the headset\u2019s first certified game<\/a>, it isn\u2019t designed as a proper VR title, and instead is meant to work with the headset\u2019s \u201cGamepad Mode\u201d as a 2D game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Valve also certified its own VR showcase games<\/a> for the headset with Aperture Hand Labs and The Lab, and certified three other titles last week<\/a> to keep adding to a growing total of games optimised for the system.<\/p>\n

The headset\u2019s launch seems to be imminent, based on the scale of work Valve is putting into the backend to get it ready, plus the growing number of shipments that have been delivered to its US warehouse.<\/p>\n

Valve recently got one of its biggest Steam Frame shipments yet<\/a>, with nearly two tonnes of headsets and controllers coming into the company\u2019s US warehouse.<\/p>\n

Valve has received a steady stream of shipments of the device in recent weeks<\/a>, similar to the lead-up to both the Steam Controller and the Steam Machine launching. Clearly, Valve wants to ensure it has stock to hand ahead of the hotly anticipated Steam Frame pre-order<\/a> reveal.<\/p>\n

Up next: Best Steam Machine settings for Doom (2016)<\/a><\/p>\n

Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credit: Valve) \ud83c\udfae Valve has been putting the finishing touches to Steam Frame\u2019s \u201cGamepad Mode\u201d \ud83d\udc4d This comes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[49,48,61,260,261,262],"class_list":["post-815200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-virtual-reality","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology","tag-virtual-reality","tag-virtualreality","tag-vr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}