{"id":898780,"date":"2026-09-17T05:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T05:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/898780\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T05:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T05:12:15","slug":"its-a-long-shot-but-heres-how-the-steam-frame-could-save-vr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/898780\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s a Long Shot, but Here’s How the Steam Frame Could Save VR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valve\u2019s Steam Frame<\/a> is one of the last of a dying breed, an honest-to-god interesting example of gaming-focused headset tech in what\u2019s become a slow drought of virtual reality. To save VR, Valve will have to pull out all the stops, and its saving grace may have something in common with many of the celebrities at the Emmys<\/a>: accessories, accessories, accessories.<\/p>\n

The Steam Frame is built for wireless VR play, even though that\u2019s diminished by its limited battery life when playing both 2D and virtual reality titles natively. It\u2019s also an awkward device for any AR (augmented reality) content with its monochromatic IR passthrough cameras. However, we may be only scratching the surface of what we can do with the Steam Frame. Valve\u2019s headset is secretly incredibly modular, and not just because it\u2019s effectively a Linux PC you can wear on your face.<\/p>\n

At launch, the makers of Steam promoted a $150 plug-in accessory<\/a> made by Arcturus that adds RGB color passthrough and 3D video capture capabilities. This extra doohickey is plugged into the front of the headset through its PCI-E expansion slot. You can see for yourself in hands-on videos<\/a> how this accessory could allow for more mixed reality game options. More than that, it\u2019s a device that allows for developers to expand what\u2019s possible with Valve\u2019s headset.<\/p>\n

The PCI-E slot means we could see even more third-party expansions to Steam Frame hardware, though we\u2019ll have to hope somebody comes up with more interesting gear. Still, there are more independent makers thinking outside the box. While the Steam Frame doesn\u2019t require any infrared \u201cbase stations\u201d to track the headset or controllers, indie company Soulart is designing hardware-agnostic base stations it promised<\/a> would be compatible with Valve\u2019s headset. This is probably more suited for people keen on VRChat if you really need full-body tracking for your avatar\u2019s fursuit (no hate to the VRChat denizens out there). At least, it proves there are other possibilities that show there\u2019s still progress to be made for virtual reality.<\/p>\n

Valve itself has indicated it\u2019s working on a separate expansion kit. The company told PCGamer<\/a> it was going to craft a new headstrap with a hot-swappable battery and higher-end speakers, akin to what it had inside its Index headset<\/a> from 2019. What\u2019s important about all this modularity is that both players and developers may not have to keep waiting for next-gen headsets to arrive to find more interesting VR tech. No, this won\u2019t finally make VR gaming truly mainstream, but it may help keep the flame alive for a few more years.<\/p>\n

\"SteamValve\u2019s expansion plans may include a new headstrap with hot-swapable batteries and even better sound through built-in headphones. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

Valve certainly has its legion of fans, but that $1,060 price tag is still going to stymie the Steam Frame from becoming anywhere as big as the Meta Quest was just a few years ago. Not to mention, the Steam Frame arrives just when multiple big companies seem to be losing all interest in VR. Sony seems to have all but given up on its PlayStation VR2<\/a> just three years after its launch. PCGuide<\/a> was first to point out that practically all major online retailers, including PlayStation Direct, list the PSVR2 as out of stock or only available used or refurbished.<\/p>\n

Due in large part to the ongoing RAMpocalypse<\/a>, VR hardware has languished with ever-expanding prices and fewer new games to play. The week before Valve could debut its $1,060 headset, longtime VR game developer Polyarc, creator of the beloved platformers Moss and Moss II, shut its doors<\/a>. In prior months, Vertigo Games\u2019 Amsterdam-based team\u2014the developers behind the Metro Awakening VR title\u2014also met its end<\/a> due to how the \u201cVR market remains a challenging space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meta may be crafting a new \u201cProject Pheonix\u201d glasses\/headset hybrid<\/a> that it could reveal at its Meta Connect conference Sept. 23. We have doubts that the device will be explicitly built with play in mind, and neither will Google and XReal\u2019s Project Aura<\/a> XR glasses. Valve won\u2019t have an easy time keeping gaming VR going, but at this point, the Steam Frame may be virtual reality gamers\u2019 best hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Valve\u2019s Steam Frame is one of the last of a dying breed, an honest-to-god interesting example of gaming-focused…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,874,7569,138999,61,47303,262],"class_list":["post-898780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-gaming","tag-steam","tag-steam-frame","tag-technology","tag-valve","tag-vr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898780","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=898780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}