But, shortly after the Steam Frame was revealed, the memory shortage and pricing crisis scuppered Valve’s best laid plans, and pushed back the release date.<\/p>\n
It may be a while yet before this Meta Quest 3<\/a> competitor comes to market, but this will give developers more time to ensure their games are Steam Frame verified<\/a> and to fawn over their developer kits<\/a>.<\/p>\n Until then, we’ll just have to stick to our Steam Deck<\/a>‘s, and if you don’t have one, good luck getting one<\/a>. Maybe by the time you can, the Steam Deck 2<\/a> might be a thing.<\/p>\n As for the Steam Frame release date, read on!<\/p>\n When is the Steam Frame release date? The Steam Frame and the included controllers.\u00a0Valve<\/p>\n The Steam Frame will launch in 2026, according to Valve.<\/p>\n Initially, the Steam Frame was set to launch in “early 2026”, but then, owing to memory shortages caused by what is being called “RAMageddon”, this was changed to the first half of 2026 in a Steam Hardware FAQ<\/a>, and now, Valve states that it hopes to ship “all three products this year” on the 2025 Year in Review page<\/a>, with the other two products being the Steam Frame and Steam Controller.<\/p>\n As we noted for the Steam Machine price, the ongoing DRAM pricing crisis caused by the proliferation of AI data centres may push this back further, though the Steam Frame is slightly less at risk to these factors due to having less memory onboard overall.<\/p>\n Once an official announcement is made, we will update you as soon as possible.<\/p>\n What is the Steam Frame? The Steam Frame has built-in speakers.\u00a0Valve<\/p>\n The Steam Frame is an all-in-one virtual reality headset akin to the Meta Quest.<\/p>\n Valve\u2019s previous VR headset, the Index, required the user to set up basestations that beamed lasers in order for the headset to track where your head and hands were.<\/p>\n The Steam Frame uses cameras on the device to do this instead, a method called “inside out” tracking.<\/p>\n This makes setup a lot quicker and easier, and those cameras can be used for pass-through viewing so that you can see your surroundings.<\/p>\n The Steam Frame separates itself from its predecessor further by having a system-on-a-chip (SoC) onboard, meaning it is possible to use the device and play games, even when not plugged into a PC.<\/p>\n This SoC is similar to those found in phones, but Valve is using a piece of software called Fast Emulation eXtension (FEX) that can allow PC games to run on it, much like the Steam Deck uses Proton to allow Windows games to run on the Linux operating system.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t be able to play highly demanding titles, but simpler games such as Beat Saber will run perfectly well.<\/p>\n As well as VR titles, you will also be able to use the Steam Frame as a virtual desktop, with windows surrounding you, like the Apple Vision Pro. A use case for this would be to play games on a virtual screen that appears much larger than your own.<\/p>\n When you do want to play demanding VR games from your PC, an included Wi-Fi dongle creates an ultrafast and low-latency dedicated network that streams the game to the Steam Frame, making for a hassle-free experience, so long as you keep the batteries charged up!<\/p>\n Want to see this content?<\/p>\n Accept and continue<\/p>\n Can I pre-order the Steam Frame? The battery is kept in the back of the headstrap to better balance the weight.\u00a0Valve<\/p>\n No, you cannot currently pre-order the Steam Frame.<\/p>\n It is available to wishlist on Steam<\/a>, should you want to be notified the moment that you can pre-order or purchase it.<\/p>\n There hasn\u2019t been any word on whether Valve will employ a reservation system as it did for the Steam Deck when it first came out.<\/p>\n This was done in the wake of COVID, which strained many supply lines, and it was also the first time Valve had manufactured its own console.<\/p>\n Depending on how the DRAM crisis plays out, however, it is still very possible that Valve might need to trickle units out to consumers, unless it has been stockpiling them in significant quantities.<\/p>\n How much will the Steam Frame cost? The Steam Frame controllers feature a DPAD, unlike the Meta Quest 3.\u00a0Valve<\/p>\n Valve has indicated that the Steam Frame will cost less than $1000 (\u00a3740 or so).<\/p>\n But even so, that price could theoretically be as high as $999.99 \u2013 and again, this previous price indication came before the severity of the DRAM pricing crisis was fully understood, so it could well end up creeping over that line.<\/p>\n Regardless, we can likely expect the Steam Frame to cost more than the Meta Quest 3<\/a>, also offering more in terms of features.<\/p>\n Once an announcement is made, we will update this page.<\/p>\n Steam Frame specs explained Users can adjust the IPD of the Steam Frame to suit their eyes.\u00a0Valve<\/p>\n There are multiple aspects to the Stream Frame: it has the displays, SoC anc controllers, and below you can check it all out!<\/p>\n Headset tech specsGeneralProcessor \u2013 4 nm Snapdragon\u00ae 8 Gen 3, ARM64RAM \u2013 16GB Unified LPDDR5X RAMStorage \u2013 256GB \/ 1TB UFS storage options (microSD card slot for expanded storage)Power \u2013 Rechargeable 21.6 Wh Li-ion battery, one USB-C 2.0 port in the rear, for charging and data, charge with USB-C, 45WModular Headstrap \u2013 Headstrap includes integrated dual audio drivers and a rechargeable battery on rear, headstrap weight: 245g, core module can be separated from headstrap, for other headstrap solutions.Display and opticsDisplay \u2013 2160 x 2160 LCD (per eye), 72-144Hz refresh rate (144Hz experimental)Optics \u2013 Custom pancake lenses, glass and non-glass optical elements, large FOV (up to 110 degrees)IPD target range \u2013 60mm – 70mmEye glasses max width \u2013 140mmCameras and trackingTracking \u2013 Inside-out camera based trackingCameras \u2013 4x outward facing monochrome cameras for controller and headset tracking, 2x interior cameras for eye tracking and foveated streamingPassthrough \u2013 Monochrome passthrough via outward facing camerasLow-light support \u2013 IR illuminators for tracking and passthrough in dark environmentsExpansion \u2013 User accessible front expansion port, dual high-speed camera interface (8 lanes @ 2.5Gbps MIPI) \/ PCIe Gen 4 interface (1-lane)ConnectivityWi-Fi \u2013 Wi-Fi 7, 2×2, dual radios enable concurrent 5GHz Wi-Fi and 6GHz VR streamingWireless Adapter \u2013 Wireless adapter included in the box, Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz), provides direct, low-latency link between headset and PCBluetooth \u2013 Bluetooth 5.3, 2.4GHz dedicated link for Steam Frame ControllersAudioSpeakers \u2013 Dual speaker drivers per ear, integrated into headstrapMicrophone \u2013 Dual microphone arraySize and weightSize \u2013 175mm x 95mm x 110mm (core module + facial interface)Weight \u2013 440 g – core module + headstrap, 185 g – core moduleSoftwareOperating System \u2013 SteamOS 3 (Arch-based)Desktop \u2013 KDE PlasmaController tech specsControls and InputMotion controls \u2013 Full 6-DOF tracking and IMU supportGamepad controls \u2013 A B X Y buttons (right controller), D-pad (left controller), Full-size magnetic thumbsticks (TMR) with capacitive touch, L & R analog triggers, L & R bumpers, View \/ Menu \/ Steam buttons, Dual stage grip buttonsHaptics \u2013 Haptic motor in each controllerFinger tracking \u2013 Capacitive sensing for all input surfaces, capacitive finger trackingGeneralConnectivity \u2013 2.4GHz link to dedicated headset radioSize \u2013 126mm x 73mm x 87mm per controllerWeight \u2013 With battery 130g per controller, without battery 107g per controllerPower \u2013 One replaceable AA battery per controller (40hr battery life)<\/p>\n Check out more of our Gaming<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Virtual reality gamers have, in fact, not been eating all that good in recent years, but Valve is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[86,56,54,55,4297,4298,4299],"class_list":["post-474393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-virtual-reality","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-virtual-reality","tag-virtualreality","tag-vr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/radio-times-steam-frame-header-bff435e.jpg\" "\\"radio")
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