Steam Frame price, pre-order, and release date may be revealed tomorrow
The last big hardware launch from Valve is coming
Updated: While we’re waiting on the Steam Frame preorders to begin, Valve has announced Steam Machine pricing and begun preorders.
👀 Valve is gearing up to finally release its next VR headset
🔜 The Steam Frame announcement could come as early as tomorrow
🤔 Updates have added more graphics for the device in Steam’s backend – a sign something is coming soon
📈 Valve has also received large shipments for the headset that we estimate could cost between $1,000 and $1,500
In among all the frenzy surrounding the Steam Controller and Steam Machine in recent weeks, it’s easy to forget Valve is also gearing up to launch a brand new VR headset shortly. And there are signs that it could be happening very soon.
Recent leaks for the Steam Machine have pointed to a June 23 announcement (that’s tomorrow), with the Steam Machine pre-order date taking place a week later. It’s expected we may get a bit more information on the Steam Frame during this announcement. Whether that turns out to be availability, price, and release date information for the Steam Frame is up for debate.
An X post from Steam Hardware Updates notes that Valve is expected to announce “hardware reservations and prices between Jun 22 and Jun 30”, while reviewers are receiving units of both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. Likewise, while it’s unclear that both devices are launching simultaneously, the X account concludes it’s “likely.”
In a reply to their own post, the X account noted that the Steam Frame seems to be launching after the Steam Machine, but that “the wait for Frame isn’t long”.
A couple of weeks ago, Valve announced both devices would be “shipping this summer”, and had said back in March that they would launch in the summer. If recent shipping information is to be believed, Valve has been receiving tons of shipments of the Steam Frame, with 13 tons imported on June 10 alone, as per The Verge.
Well-known VR tipster SadlyItsBradley, also recently posted on X that Valve has added proper Steam Frame Welcome Tour strings and graphics in an update to the Steam client’s backend.
Previously, it added information for the Steam Machine with the latest SteamOS 3.8 update and uploaded a Steam Controller unboxing video just days before the Steam Controller was announced.
Potential Steam Frame pre-order date
As for when we could specifically see the Steam Frame announced, and then up for pre-order, Steam Hardware Updates also noted that Valve had three shipments of Steam Frame and four Steam Machine shipments arrive in its warehouse on June 17, and anticipates an announcement “before the 30th”.
If that’s the case, then we’re likely to see further updates to the Steam client backend, plus software updates to pave the way for the Steam Frame before an official announcement.
If June 30 is Steam Frame Announcement Day, then pre-order availability is likely to follow a week later. It’s likely that these will be hot property, so Valve is likely to bring in a reservation system to deter scalpers, as it has with the Steam Controller.
Steam Frame price prediction
Pricing is a little more difficult to pin down, as we’ve received little information about how much it will cost. An interview with Valve when the device was announced with Upload VR noted that it was aiming to supply the Steam Frame for less than the $1,000 full-kit it charged for the Valve Index.
Back in 2023, it was estimated that Meta made a loss on every single Meta Quest 3 with its $499 price tag, as it was estimated to cost $430 to produce, and with everything that’s happened to push the announcement of the Steam Machine and Steam Frame back owing to memory costs, it’s likely the price of the headset is going to be much higher than we thought.
Valve may have thought it could do the Steam Frame for under $1,000 back in November last year when the memory crisis wasn’t as bad as it is now, so we anticipate pricing to be between $1,000 and $1,500 for the full kit. That’s a wide range, but with the price of components the way it is, it could easily be at either end of the spectrum.
Of course, with little in the way of official information, we’ve still got some time to wait before we get confirmation of the Steam Frame’s price, release date and pre-order date, but that’s our best guess for now.
Up next: Steam Machine price: here’s how much Valve’s new hardware is expected to cost
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.