I Tried Valve’s Steam Frame, Machine and Controller: SteamOS Is Coming for Your Face and TV

Imagine, if you’ll, a Steam Deck and a VR headset combining into a brand new gaming life kind — half Meta Quest, half handheld recreation system. As I slid the Steam Frame over my eyes and my arms into the controller, that is precisely what I felt.

The Steam Frame is a brand new VR headset by gaming large Valve, the corporate behind the Steam platform, however it wasn’t the one new piece of {hardware} I examined throughout the course of some hours at Valve’s HQ. There’s additionally the Steam Machine, a console-sized PC designed to connect with a tv, and the Steam Controller. These three new units are designed to work collectively as an entire ecosystem.

All three items of the brand new Steam gaming {hardware} will probably be accessible in early 2026, although pricing hasn’t been introduced. I used to be amongst a small group of journalists invited to expertise them for the primary time, and I got here away with some solutions, and some questions.

First off, none of those units is a brand new Steam Deck, one of many finest handheld recreation consoles. I do not anticipate Valve to announce the following Steam Deck in 2026, and firm representatives I requested gave me no purpose to suppose in any other case. And the Steam Machine would not appear to be a direct Xbox or PlayStation competitor, both. Seen as a complete, all three new Valve devices push the thought of PC gaming in novel instructions. And based mostly on Valve’s historical past of {hardware} launches, their tech might finally seem in third-party merchandise, too.

Steam Frame, a standalone VR headset, captured my pleasure probably the most. It’s been six years because the Valve Index debuted in 2019, and rumors have been heating up just lately. But Valve’s return to VR in 2026, amid a panorama stuffed with AI and AR-infused blended actuality headsets and glasses, is sort of completely different. Valve is not inquisitive about AR proper now, or AI for that matter. The Steam Frame is all about gaming. 

I additionally hung out with the cube-shaped, almost console-like PC Valve known as Steam Machine, enjoying video games whereas linked to a TV. And I performed utilizing the brand new Steam Controller, a individually offered wi-fi controller with a set of Steam Deck-like controls and a brand new wi-fi protocol for connecting lag-free.

Let’s get even deeper into what impressed me, and what to anticipate from every product once they drop subsequent 12 months.

Steam Frame: A Steam Deck to your face

From the surface, nothing concerning the Steam Frame seems to be notably distinctive. But it is nonetheless wild to see Valve’s engineering staff — led by designer Andrew Yang — unveil a smooth black VR headset and controllers that work on their very own, identical to Meta’s Quest, Apple’s Vision Pro, and Samsung Galaxy XR. But the Steam Frame is none of these issues. I consider it as a Steam Deck to your face. Valve is fast to level out that the gadget’s largest energy is working SteamOS on an ARM chip on this kind. That means you possibly can load your Steam recreation library instantly onto it from a PC by way of a MicroSD card and begin enjoying each VR and non-VR video games on the go, or use the Steam Frame to wirelessly stream out of your PC at dwelling.

“We see it as kind of a fundamental shift in the way that we’re looking at VR,” Yang instructed me as I put Steam Frame on my head. “We see Steam Frame as a a new way to play your entire Steam library — not just your VR titles, but also your non-VR titles.”

The Steam Frame is Valve’s first transfer to place SteamOS on an ARM processor. It would not have Qualcomm’s VR-focused XR2 chip, however as an alternative makes use of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ARM64 chip with 16GB of RAM. It could possibly be a brand new strategy to play a ton of video games on different standalone {hardware}, VR and in any other case.

The two-piece design of the headset has the computing and lenses up entrance with a foam face piece, and a 21 watt-hour rechargeable battery pack within the again that is linked by a cable and versatile head strap. Valve did not verify particular battery life, claiming a variety based mostly on efficiency. I’d anticipate one thing between a Meta Quest and a first-gen Steam Deck (two to 3 hours), however I’m curious. There’s help for prescription lens inserts, however my excessive index possibility wasn’t accessible on the demo, so I needed to squeeze my glasses in. They match, however simply barely.

The extensive discipline of view (110 levels) and LCD show (2,160 x 2,160 pixels per eye decision) seemed good — about equal to Quest 3. The clear pancake lenses made the whole lot look vivid and unmuddied. It can run video games as much as 120 Hz, and even an experimental 144 Hz. Built-in audio by way of audio system within the entrance have been loud, too, however you can too use wi-fi headphones. The Stream Frame has passthrough cameras to trace motion (together with at nighttime with infrared) and may see by way of black-and-white passthrough. It’s not meant for blended actuality, however somewhat that will help you simply create and see your play boundaries.

The controllers are awfully acquainted, with a button and stick and dual-trigger structure much like the Quest. But there is a twist: 4 buttons on the precise controller, and a d-pad on the left. It mirrors the Steam Deck’s design, minus the trackpads.

While a d-pad would not appear splendid for VR video games, it is completely suited to any video games in SteamOS that use Valve’s present controller mappings. Steam video games can run on this whether or not they’re VR or not.

Steam Frame’s PC-connected VR streaming

But the Frame is not simply standalone; it is designed to work with PCs, too. Valve sees the Frame as a mixture between a wi-fi and standalone gadget, and its new wi-fi tech seems to be actually promising. It makes use of a brand new 6 GHz-based protocol with a dongle you plug into your PC. It can stream quicker than commonplace wi-fi Steam Link with out taxing the native Wi-Fi or needing any cloud providers. 

The Frame additionally has eye monitoring cameras that even labored by my glasses. They aren’t used for management, however as an alternative for foveated rendering and streaming. Foveated rendering sharpens the visuals the place your eyes are centered and reduces decision in your peripheral imaginative and prescient, with out you noticing. But the Frame does this for streaming PC video games in VR, which Valve calls foveated streaming. It reduces the load on the wi-fi connection, bettering general stream high quality — one thing I’ve by no means seen earlier than. Again, it occurs invisibly. Playing Half-Life: Alyx streamed from a PC, I’d have by no means know the sides of my discipline of view have been decrease res.

I performed a PC VR recreation known as Ghost Town on Steam Frame for a bit bit, wandering the deck of a ship. I additionally performed Hades 2, stretched throughout an adjustable huge display floating in entrance of me. Both have been x86 variations of the video games, working in standalone mode.

Valve’s Yang emphasised that, sure, you possibly can switch video games proper off your PC and play them on Frame, together with basic early-gen SteamVR video games I am unable to discover on Quest (I’m taking a look at you, Adventure Time: Magic Man’s Head Games). There’s a microSD card slot on Steam Frame for expanded storage, plus an included 256GB or 1TB of area onboard.

Not all of the Deck-verified video games are immediately going to play on the ARM chipset. Yang mentioned verification for the Frame will take time, as particular person video games are optimized for the brand new chipset. Valve makes use of an algorithm that elements in buyer curiosity from want lists and purchases to resolve which video games to prioritize, although the method for choosing titles to optimize for the Frame continues to be being refined.

I used to be stunned Valve hadn’t launched a standalone model of Half-Life: Alyx for the Steam Frame. When I requested if it was coming, it gave the impression of Valve is exploring whether or not that might occur.

But what’s much more intriguing is that different Android VR video games might run on Steam Frame, even ones for Android XR. “We would treat it as another one of those things to plug in,” mentioned Jeremy Selan, a {hardware}/software program engineer at Valve. “As Android XR becomes a richer, fuller fleshed out set of APIs and programs, and there’s content to support it, we could easily add support for that to SteamOS itself.”

Other expansions might include a {custom} port within the entrance of the headset, which Valve hints could possibly be for high-speed cameras.

It actually seems like Steam Frame is a stepping stone in direction of concepts for a future Steam Deck, one that might work with XR glasses and join by way of streaming with TV consoles and headsets. “It’s not inconceivable to think that even these products would be a part of that ecosystem dream you just laid out,” Valve’s Selan mentioned once I ask about this.

Steam Machine and Steam Controller: PC gaming on a TV

I additionally demoed two non-VR units at Valve’s HQ. The Steam Machine is a black dice concerning the measurement of a recreation console, one thing that you might simply park in entrance of a TV. It’s a full gaming PC that may stream wirelessly to Steam Frame, or it might probably merely be one thing you play as an alternative of an Xbox or PlayStation. I sat down on a settee to check out some acquainted video games, and I used to be handed a brand new Steam Controller to play with.

The Steam Machine is a return to an idea first launched a decade in the past. The Alienware Steam Machine in 2015 tried to create an ecosystem of console-sized (and priced) PC recreation consoles. Unfortunately, its odd controller, with trackpads as an alternative of thumbsticks, was an unwelcome shift from the remainder of the PC universe.

The new Steam Machine coming in 2026 brings an infusion of Steam Deck-provided confidence, each in recreation compatibility and controller design. Valve says the Steam Machine is six instances extra graphically highly effective than the three-and-a-half-year-old Steam Deck however would not share specifics past a couple of specs. The Steam Machine has a semi-custom AMD-based Zen 4 CPU and AMD RDNA3 28CUs GPU, able to 4K 60 frames per second gaming and ray tracing. 

Meanwhile, the brand new Steam Controller has a full set of controls that mirror the Steam Deck’s, together with analog sticks, d-pad and buttons, twin trackpads and twin triggers. It even has gyro-based controls that may be triggered by flippantly touching the capacitive-touch analog sticks or rear grip buttons. I beloved the way it felt to carry, and I discovered the structure of buttons fairly cheap to achieve with my thumbs (though the angled touchpads took some getting used to). 

The Steam Machine will probably be accessible each with and with out the Steam Controller. Since it is a Steam-based PC, you should use any controller you want, however the Steam Controller’s distinctive options are actually a welcome addition.

The Steam Machine has help for a brand new wi-fi protocol within the controllers: a 2.4 GHz radio that bypasses commonplace Bluetooth for higher responsiveness. The Hall-effect magnetic analog sticks have smaller useless zones than Steam Deck, that means you might arrange much more micro-responsive thumb flick strikes, and the vibrating haptics are stronger. The Steam Controller works with different PCs, too, by way of a wi-fi dongle cable that additionally doubles as a magnetic controller charger — a intelligent contact. 

I did not get to play many video games on Steam Machine — Valve solely had a handful to attempt — however I discovered the early efficiency hit or miss. Less graphically intense video games akin to Balatro and Hollow Knight: Silksong appeared completely high quality, as I anticipated. Cyberpunk 2077, throughout the quick time I performed, seemed good, too. On the opposite hand, Silent Hill had some graphic stutters, which Valve’s staff says needs to be mounted in later recreation updates. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds had graphics efficiency points as nicely.

Valve famous that within the early days of the Steam Deck, few video games within the Steam library have been optimized to run on it, however that modified because the library grew over time. The Steam Machine is not arriving till subsequent 12 months, so I’m curious to see the way it performs then. Ultimately, value and efficiency will decide whether or not the Steam Machine seems like a hit or a flop.

But I do love the design of the compact system. In a cool twist, it has has detachable magnetic faceplates — I noticed one among Heavy, my older son’s favourite character from Team Fortress 2, holding a balloon — and an LED bar on the underside of the system that lights up and reveals some animated progress bars for downloads.

I actually just like the controllers, that are cross-compatible with each the Steam Deck and Steam Frame. When paired with a docked Steam Deck, they make TV-connected play really feel a lot better, nearer to the expertise of utilizing a Nintendo Switch. They may even energy on the Steam Machine or a docked Steam Deck.

Is this the signal of gaming ecosystems to return?

As I attempted all these demos, I could not assist however marvel what they meant for gaming as a complete. Is Valve providing a glimpse of the long run, one the place our PCs, equipment and headsets are all interconnected? Or is the corporate deconstructing the PC itself, increasing SteamOS even additional throughout handhelds, consoles, headsets and past? Maybe it is all the above, not a lot a single product as a philosophy of interconnection.

And the essential query: What will all of this price when it arrives in early 2026? Valve’s staff mentioned it is nonetheless figuring out pricing particulars and provided no hints about what any of it may cost.

The recreation console panorama is already in an odd, transitional place. Microsoft is embracing an “Xbox everywhere” method, and PlayStation is experimenting with streaming handhelds and VR headsets. Nintendo’s Switch 2 is already modular. Valve seems to be to be taking that multi-device flexibility to Steam in a bunch of recent methods, tackling the whole lot in 2026… besides the Steam Deck. 

It seems like Valve plans for the applied sciences within the Steam Machine and Steam Frame to increase to third-party merchandise in addition to its personal. After all, SteamOS already runs on a number of Windows handhelds, and Steam Link for VR works on each Quest and PlayStation VR. With the brand new Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller, Valve appears to be triangulating one thing new —  an exploded-out Steam Deck-esque area for Steam video games. 

Steam Deck received me over though I’m not a PC gamer, and Steam Frame reveals the identical promise for VR. But the most important lacking piece — a brand new next-gen Steam Deck to tie all of it collectively — nonetheless looms giant. 

Valve acknowledges the rising curiosity in a brand new Steam Deck however says it needs to attend till the {hardware} can ship a true leap ahead earlier than releasing a sequel. Maybe gaming handhelds simply aren’t there but.   

In the meantime, I am unable to wait to see whether or not the Steam Machine will truly be a PC console that works for me. And I’m much more curious to seek out out if the Steam Frame could possibly be the primary true challenger to the Meta Quest. The factor is, we simply will not know till 2026.