Valve announced the Steam Frame VR headset way back in November 2025, promising an early 2026 release. After delays due to component shortages and RAM issues, the Frame is finally here.
Some early unboxing and tutorial videos leaked last month, suggesting the headset was on the way. Major tech site Linus Tech Tips appeared to break the embargo with his own video that popped up over the weekend.
But it's here now with Valve's official announcement revealing two versions of the headset: one with 256GB of storage and a 1TB version starting at $1,059 and $1,299, respectively.
Tom's Guide is hard at work on our review of the Steam Frame, but some early reviews have started to crop up. Here's the early buzz on Valve's headset.
"An experiment in progress" - CNET
CNET's Scott Stein praised the Frame's lightweight build and ability to stream games from your PC but said that it won't replace his Steam Deck, nor is it the best VR headset he's used.
What excited Stein was a more modular future with features like detachable headsets and battery packs that hint at a possible evolution.
"The Frame isn’t necessarily the future of XR, as much as it’s a framework for evolving beyond the present. I got that feeling over and over again as I kept dipping back in. Maybe someday I’ll be blending all my worlds in one, all devices melting together."
A gaming monitor - IGN
IGN's Jacqueline Thomas described the Frame as one of the most comfortable VR headsets they've ever worn thanks to its lightweight design and vents that push hot air away from your face.
Though they played VR games, the review seems to describe the Frame as a gaming monitor for your face as much as a VR headset. But at $1,059, it's unlikely to knock the best AR glasses off their perch or the Meta Quest 3.
God, I wish this were £600 - Rock Paper Shotgun
The price is the bugaboo when it comes to the Frame for Rock Paper Shotgun's James Archer.
"These, importantly, include remedies for VR pain points that have existed for ages. Unreliable wireless connections: fixed. Tricky setups: simplified. Weird controllers: normalized. Needing a Meta account: not needing a Meta account. When the Frame can do this much, this well, I’m practically forced at inside-out sensorpoint to conclude that if I was buying a VR kit for myself, it’d be this one," Archer said.
But then, the price is such a drawback, especially at nearly double the cost of Meta's Quest 3.
Good looks, good performance, and a debilitating price - Tom's Hardware
Our colleagues at Tom's Hardware put together a thorough review of the Steam Frame that you should check out if you truly want the nitty-gritty.
Like most reviews we've found, Brandon Hill found a lot to like about the Frame, from the foam padding to excellent performance, even if standalone gaming struggles a bit. However, again, the price is a real pain point here.
"That’s a tall order in this economic climate, when gamers are already being assaulted from multiple fronts with rising memory, storage, and GPU prices," Hill said.
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