The Steam Frame Arrives at a Steep $1,059, Testing the Limits of PCVR Budgets
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Valve has priced the new Steam Frame headset starting at $1,059, reflecting broader hardware cost increases while offering high-end features like eye tracking and dedicated wireless PCVR streaming.
After nearly a year of anticipation, Valve has finally revealed the official pricing for the Steam Frame, and it is notably higher than many players were hoping. The base 256GB model starts at $1,059, while stepping up to the 1TB version pushes the cost to $1,299. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and 16GB of RAM, both packages include two controllers, an eye spacer for glasses, and a dedicated Wi-Fi 6GHz dongle built specifically for wireless PCVR streaming. While that price point places it well above standalone competitors like the Meta Quest 3, the hardware aims to justify the cost with premium features like built-in eye tracking and double the memory.
Speaking with IGN South Africa, Valve confirmed that the headset faced the same rising component costs impacting the broader tech industry, driven largely by ongoing supply constraints and skyrocketing RAM prices that have affected everything from mini PCs to current generation consoles. Despite the sticker shock, the Steam Frame sits comfortably in line with other high-end PCVR alternatives on the market, such as the Pimax Crystal Light and Samsung Galaxy XR. For players deeply invested in the PC ecosystem who want a high-performance wireless headset for their Steam library, the hardware delivers on performance, even if it is not going to win any battles for mass-market affordability.
Reservations for the Steam Frame are officially open in the US, utilizing the same queue system Valve previously used for the Steam Machine and Steam Controller. Players have until September 17 to sign up before Valve sorts submissions into active reservation lists and waitlists, with initial shipments scheduled to go out starting September 18. Given the expected demand, availability will likely stretch through the end of the year, meaning anyone looking to secure a unit should prepare for a bit of a wait.
Tags: VR, Steam, Hardware, PC Gaming, Valve
Original article: IGN South Africa