Valve's Steam Frame VR Headset Costs Over £1,000
Valve's Steam Frame went on sale September 14 at $1,059. The headset runs SteamOS, streams wirelessly from a PC, and can also run games natively on its own chip.
- $1,299 gets the 1TB model; the base 256GB model costs $1,059.
- 440g headset weight is lighter than Meta Quest 3's 515g.
- Battery drained fully in about one hour during native VR gameplay.
- An optional $59–$60 accessories kit adds a top strap and controller hand straps.
Why it matters: The Steam Frame targets PC gamers who want wireless VR, but its limitations place it awkwardly between a standalone headset and a PC peripheral.
- Meta's Quest 3S starts at £320, compared to the Frame's £1,000-plus price point.
- UploadVR editor David Heaney argued the cost barrier is overstated, calling VR "a tech in its 1980s PC era."
How 5 sources split on this story
Where they split: Reviewers agree the hardware is promising but disagree on whether its bugs and compromises disqualify it as a consumer product today versus an acceptable early-access device.
Center coverage, 3 sources: The center frames the Steam Frame as an ambitious but unfinished experiment — noting genuine innovation while questioning whether its price and limitations make it viable for mainstream buyers today.
Left coverage, 2 sources: The left frames the Steam Frame as an exciting, hacker-friendly platform for gadget enthusiasts willing to tolerate rough edges — emphasizing its openness and potential over its current flaws.
What’s next: Valve is taking waitlist orders; no firm wide-release date was announced.
- Game compatibility is expected to expand, following the Steam Deck precedent.
- Will Valve address battery life through hardware revisions or software optimization?
- How quickly will developers release games optimized for the Steam Frame's Linux-on-Arm platform?
- Can the Frame's price drop enough to compete with Meta's lower-cost standalone headsets?