When UploadVR visited Valve headquarters to try Steam Frame, we heard comments echoing the strategies at Google and Apple.
There's an APK for that in Galaxy XR and thousands of iPad apps available day one on Apple Vision Pro. Meanwhile, the verified program for Steam Frame is poised to bring the value of Steam to your face wherever it is. Today, the only constant companion for most VR headsets is a Windows PC, but the time is coming when a Steam Deck, iPhone, iPad or Nintendo Switch may become an even more useful companion in VR.
Valve's trade-offs in Steam Frame's modular design have many prospective buyers fretting over the details. Developers are still reeling from the shift from Quest to Horizon – as Meta shifts strategies yet again – releasing games like Civilization VII and Vampire Survivors in VR along the way. Developers exploring Android XR and visionOS are figuring out what they can build in the space between fully immersive VR apps and traditional flatscreen content.
When it comes to Valve, we asked them about ideas like "spatial computing" and "mixed reality" being pursued elsewhere. Neither concept is really present in Valve's initial Steam Frame with black and white passthrough, though there's a lot of potential for sensing add-ons through the nose port.
Here's how Valve's Jeremy Selan replied about the focus of their first headset to carry the Steam name:
"As a strong Index user, someone who worked on it and has spent major portions of my adult life working on that and the Vive, when I think about playing VR, I have to make an intentional choice. So I'll be like, you know what? I want to go do VR. So I go to the room that has my PC and has my base stations installed. And I start playing that. But then sometimes, if I'm in another room and I'm like, well, maybe I should just take out my Deck and I start playing those games. And that choice I personally think is one of the highest friction bits remaining."
"Sure you can expect that when you put it on because it's SteamOS you hit the power button and you're fast into your game without the base station setup. Yeah, you can do [that] in any environment, but the ability to put on the headset and to see your Steam catalog in front of you where you can just choose a VR game or choose a non-VR game – it makes me play VR more. And it really reduces the impediment or the friction of even having to think about that distinction."
"We see the lines between VR and non-VR content really being blurred because they should just be games and you should be able to have devices that let you enjoy them. And this is our first stab at that."
We expect to have a review of Steam Frame in 2026 and will always bring you the latest. For more, you can dive into our nearly three-hour discussion from the day of the headset's announcement.
