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Steam Frame is the name of Valve’s latest VR headset. It’s the follow-up to the Valve Index from back in 2019, but it’s definitely not a sequel. Unlike the Index, which requires a wired connection to your gaming PC, the Frame is designed as a “streaming-first” headset, which connects to your PC wirelessly. You can also use it as a standalone device, thanks to the Snapdragon chip on board.
As a standalone device, Valve hopes that the Steam Frame can offer a “good” experience without any help from external hardware. The VR headset is fitted with an ARM64-based Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, 16GB of RAM, and runs on SteamOS; we already know that it is compatible with the Linux-based operating system.
Steam Frame might run Half-Life Alyx without a gaming PC
Speaking with UploadVR, Valve representatives “think they can get Half-Life: Alyx running performant in standalone, but they’re not promising it yet, and it’s clear there’s still a lot for them to do”. This sentiment was echoed when the same idea was discussed with Digital Foundry.
“Half-Life: Alyx is a great experience when streamed from a PC to Steam Frame, and we are looking into making it a good standalone experience as well,”
Valve representative, via Digital Foundry
Half-Life: Alyx still feels like it could be the best VR game on the market. Its high level of polish (that we’ve come to expect from Valve, especially anything to do with Half-Life) is pretty much unmatched in the VR space. Some games may get a VR adaptation or mod, but many big game devs are less inclined to take a bet on a fully fleshed-out VR title, given its relatively niche fanbase.
In case you missed it, Steam Frame isn’t the only new hardware Valve announced this week. It also launched the Steam Machine, which will pair well with the new headset, as well as a revised version of the Steam Controller.