Steam Frame release may be further out than we thought, as verification logo disappears

The saga continues

(Credit: Valve)

• 🤔 The verification logo for Steam Frame games has disappeared from Steam completely

• 🤷‍♂️ It had only been in a beta stage, but it seems like an odd setback considering how close we thought the headset’s release was

• 🤞 Steam Hardware Updates on X has posited that it could be while Valve waits for more games to be verified, and then it’ll return

• 🔜 All the other indicators point to an imminent launch, especially as the headset has cleared one of its final regulatory hurdles in recent days

Valve is giving some mixed signals when it comes to the Steam Frame release, as a key verification logo has disappeared.

As spotted by Steam Hardware Updates on X, Valve has removed the Steam Frame verification icon from games, which was only available in beta, but has now fully disappeared.

All hope is not lost, though, as in a follow-up post, the account noted that this isn’t “necessarily a bad indicator” as it’s possible Valve is waiting for more games to have verified labels.

As it stands, “only 40-50 games actually had a label at all”, as per Steam Hardware Updates, and some of those games were unsupported.

Valve has been steadily verifying more games for the Steam Frame as part of its extensive back-end updating, which had signalled that an announcement for a price and the long-awaited Steam Frame pre-order could come at virtually any moment.

We’re also now up to 25 verified games for the new ‘Great on Frame’ category Valve recently launched on Steam, plus the headset has received Steamworks support and recently cleared one of its final regulatory hurdles, suggesting a launch is very close.

Lots of Steam Frame accessories have also been showing up on Amazon in recent weeks, suggesting that brands are getting ready for when the device eventually launches.

Valve recently received one of its biggest Steam Frame shipments yet, with nearly two tonnes of headsets and controllers coming into Valve’s US warehouse, as the Steam Hardware Updates account on X had noted.

Some of Valve’s more recent shipments have also included an adapter for the Steam Frame and ergonomics kits as it seeks to have packages of the devices, perhaps with and without accessories, as it has with the Steam Machine bundles that come with the option to have a Steam Controller bundled in.

While this is a bit of a minor setback in theory, it could just be one of those things – after all, the verification icon was only present in a beta stage, and it could simply be Valve waiting for more games before the badge returns. The rest of the signs up to this point have been nothing but positive, of course.

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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.