Valve has revealed pricing for its new Steam Frame VR headset, which runs on SteamOS and features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with 16GB of RAM.
The device can run adapted VR games and regular Steam titles directly on the headset using Gamepad mode. More demanding games can instead be streamed wirelessly from a PC.
Steam Frame features two displays with a resolution of 2160×2160 per eye and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The headset also includes eye tracking and comes with dedicated controllers.
• 256GB — $1,059
• 1TB — $1,299
Both models include the controllers and a voucher for Half Life: Alyx. Valve has prepared a version of the 2020 VR game that can run directly on Steam Frame. However, it will not be available at launch and is instead «intended to ship to customers soon.»
Valve initially wasn't sure whether Half Life: Alyx could be adapted to run on the headset, but the company says that «foveated rendering and eye tracking turned out to be a silver bullet». This allowed the developers to avoid changing assets or compromising the gameplay experience. The additional work on Vulkan drivers and SteamVR took «over a year».
Steam Frame will launch with 130 standalone verified titles, while Gamepad mode will allow users to play 2D games through the unified dashboard.
Valve is also offering several optional accessories. The power supply costs $29, an accessory replacement kit is $49, and an ergonomic accessories kit costs $59. Prescription lenses from Zenni Optical and an RGB camera from Arcturus are also planned, although their prices have not yet been announced.
Reservations are open until September 17 at 10 AM PT. Valve will randomly determine the reservation order, with users receiving an email confirming whether they made the reservation list or were placed on the waitlist. The first purchase invitations will be sent out on September 18.
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