Valve Steam Frame Launches at US$1,059, But You Need a Reservation

Valve’s Steam Frame VR headset has launched, combining wireless PC streaming, standalone SteamOS gaming and support for traditional non-VR games in one device. The 256GB model is priced at US$1,059, while the 1TB version costs US$1,299, according to PCMag.

Steam Frame is here! Our wireless VR headset + controllers, available now in the following models:

Steam Frame 256GB
Steam Frame 1TB
Sign up now and learn more on @Steam https://t.co/N9IvWskQRP pic.twitter.com/9sfIUSjiwL

— Valve (@valvesoftware) September 14, 2026

Buying one is not as simple as adding it to a cart, however. Valve has opened sign-ups for a randomised reservation system, with the queue set to be shuffled on 17 September at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The first purchase emails are due to go out from 18 September, and selected buyers will have 72 hours to complete their order.

Steam Frame Starts at US$1,059

Steam Frame comes in two storage configurations, but both versions use the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and 16GB of unified LPDDR5X memory. The headset also includes a microSD card slot, so storage is not limited to the built-in 256GB or 1TB capacity.

Model	US Price	UK Price
Steam Frame 256GB	US$1,059	£889
Steam Frame 1TB	US$1,299	£1,089

At those figures, Steam Frame is clearly positioned as premium VR hardware rather than a mass-market entry point, although Valve is also asking the headset to do more than a conventional PC VR device.

Valve developer Jeremy Selan told the BBC that the company originally set out to make Steam Frame considerably cheaper, but the global RAM market pushed costs higher. Selan said Valve had “fought hard to get it even to this price”.

Each eye gets a 2160 x 2160 LCD panel with custom pancake lenses and refresh rates from 72Hz to 144Hz, with 144Hz currently described as experimental. The field of view reaches up to 110 degrees, while the complete headset weighs 440g with its headstrap attached. Four outward-facing monochrome cameras handle headset and controller tracking, two internal cameras handle eye tracking, and infrared illuminators support tracking in darker rooms.

Valve Is Betting on Wireless Streaming

The biggest technical focus is wireless streaming. Valve includes a 6GHz Wi-Fi 6E adapter that creates a direct low-latency connection between the headset and a PC, while the headset itself uses dual radios so one connection can handle the streamed audio and visuals as another remains connected to Wi-Fi.

Steam Frame also introduces foveated streaming, which uses eye tracking to concentrate the highest-quality image data where the player is looking. Valve says the system can deliver more than a 10x improvement in image quality and effective bandwidth, reducing the amount of data spent rendering peripheral vision at maximum quality.

Multi-Link Streaming adds another layer by sending data across all available headset connections at the same time. Rather than depending on a single wireless path, Steam Frame can adapt between connections and use built-in redundancy when network conditions change. The combination makes the headset’s streaming-first design much more central to the product than simply removing a cable.

The base headset uses monochrome passthrough through its outward-facing cameras. An optional Arcturus Vision Camera is designed to add 5K HDR colour passthrough and spatial video capture, while Zenni is offering prescription lens inserts.

SteamOS Lets Steam Frame Play Without a PC

Steam Frame can also run games on its own. The headset uses SteamOS 3 on an ARM64 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, with Valve offering a Steam Frame Standalone Verified label to show which VR and non-VR games can run locally without being streamed from another computer.

Valve lists titles including Beat Saber, ANIMAL WELL, Is This Seat Taken? and Brotato among the verified examples. Because Steam Frame is treated as a SteamOS PC, owners can also install their own apps, open a browser, use cloud saves and take advantage of quick suspend and resume.

The bundled controllers follow the same idea. They support normal six-degrees-of-freedom VR tracking and capacitive finger sensing, but also include a D-pad, ABXY buttons, full-size magnetic thumbsticks, triggers and bumpers for flat-screen games. Each controller uses a single replaceable AA battery rated for around 40 hours.

Valve is also including a copy of Half-Life: Alyx with Steam Frame. Owners can redeem it from the headset’s settings after signing in, although a device cannot grant a second copy if the game is already in that Steam library. Developers can request limited Steam Frame developer kits through the Steam partner dashboard, with Valve saying kits will continue to be sent out on an ongoing basis.

Reservations Are Randomised, and New Zealand Is Not Listed

Valve’s Steam Frame page says reservation sign-ups remain open until 17 September at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Eligible customers need a Steam account in good standing and must have made a Steam purchase before 27 April 2026. Valve is also limiting sign-ups to one per household.

Valve says the randomised queue is intended to be “less frustrating and more fair for everyone”, instead of rewarding bots, fast internet connections or people able to refresh the store the moment sales begin. The 256GB and 1TB models have separate lists, and buyers will be told after the randomisation whether they have a reservation or have been placed on the waitlist.

The initial reservation regions listed by Valve are North America, the UK/EU and Australia. Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong are being handled through official distributor Komodo, while South Korea is due to receive Steam Frame later. New Zealand is not named among those launch regions, and Valve has not announced a New Zealand price or release date.

For customers who do receive a reservation, the first purchase emails are scheduled to begin on 18 September. Anyone who signs up after the randomisation will be added to the back of the waitlist. Valve’s first-party power supply and accessory kits will only be available to headset buyers during the add-to-cart process.