The Steam frame is shipping “this summer,” Valve confirms

Introducing the ‘Steam Frame Verified’ label, Valve confirmed the headset will ship “this summer”.

Valve said it would ship in “early 2026” when it revealed the Steam frame in November. For pricing, UploadVR said it “aims” to sell the Steam frame for less than the $1000 index full-kit.

But given the global memory shortage resulting from the rapid development of AI, the company announced in February that it had to “reconsider” its “exact shipping schedule and pricing.”

This month, in a blog post launching the Steam Frame Verified program, Valve confirmed that both Steam Frame and Steam Machine console PCs will launch “this summer,” meaning within the next three months.

Steam frame checked

Valve announced specific criteria for VR titles to receive the ‘Steam Frame Verified’ label on the Steam store at GDC in March.

Steam Frame is marketed by Valve as a “PC streaming first” product, primarily for gaming PC owners, but it also supports completely standalone streaming without a PC, such as a Meta Quest or Pico headset.

While Steam Frame is a complete experience, it’s challenging to access the regular Steam store, and much of the VR content on Steam is designed to run on powerful gaming PCs that draw hundreds of watts from the mains power.

Steam Frame is slightly more powerful than Quest 3, with about 30% more GPU power and eye tracking to enable foveated rendering in supported titles. But it is still less powerful than a PC because it runs on a battery-powered mobile chipset. When the steam frame ends Run Almost any VR title on Steam can’t run the majority Well done.

Since Steam Frame was announced, dozens of VR game developers have been working to optimize their titles to run standalone on Valve’s headset. Some are rebuilding their Quest or Pico builds, taking advantage of the fact that the Steam Frame can run Android APKs, while others are building a lower graphics tier than their current low levels.

For those purchasing Steam Frame who want to use the headset alone, Valve will add a ‘Steam Frame Verified’ label to games that have been tested and run well. This is a continuation of its strategy with Steam Deck, which carries the ‘Steam Deck Verified’ label.

The label applies to both VR and flatscreen titles. For stand-alone VR, the title must run at 90 FPS, while stand-alone flatscreen games must run at a minimum of 720p 30FPS.

Valve’s 90 FPS VR requirement for the label is stricter than the Meta Horizon Store or Pico Store, both of which allow 72Hz VR titles, with 36FPS reprogrammed to 72Hz. The PlayStation Store allows reprogramming 60FPS to a minimum of 120Hz.

The study found that 120Hz is the “threshold” for avoiding VR sickness

A recent study concluded that 120fps is the “critical threshold” for avoiding VR sickness for most people, at least in the Pimax 5K Super test.

In VR, a higher frame rate reduces the feeling of sickness that some people experience. And below 90 FPS, many will notice a distinct flicker at the periphery of the image for bright scenes, with the low-stability displays required for VR headsets. Valve prioritizes user experience over as many Steam frame-validated titles as possible – a fascinating move.

However, creating VR content for a powerful gaming PC running at 90 FPS on a 10-watt mobile chipset from late 2023 is no easy feat for developers, and for some it’s an outright impossible task.

It’s a reminder of Valve’s “PC streaming first” positioning for the product, and the company’s adherence to values ​​established by the industry in early 2014, when both Oculus and Valve announced 90Hz as the minimum bar for high-quality VR.

“Like Steam Deck Verified, the Steam Frame Standalone Verified program focuses on the experience customers can have with the device in standalone mode. The criteria are similar: the default graphics configuration must perform well, and text and UI elements must be crisp and clear. The same testing criteria apply to both VR titles and non-VR titles.”

Developers can read about Steam Framework Validated Requirements on the SteamWorks website.