Valve is mostly known for the software triumph of Steam, but the company has just made its commitment to hardware clear. While some of Valve’s past hardware efforts were relatively unsuccessful, the Valve Index VR headset and Steam Deck handheld both proved to be hits. Now, Valve is expanding into three discrete hardware
Valve has now unveiled the Steam Frame, Steam Machine, and Steam Controller. The Steam Frame is a new standalone VR headset, while the Steam Machine and Steam Controller resurrect previous hardware attempts at living room PCs and PC-oriented gamepads. Prices haven’t been set for any of the new devices, but they’re all planned for release in 2026.
The Steam Frame Is A Standalone VR Headset
The Steam Frame is definitely the biggest departure from Valve’s past ventures, abandoning the setup-heavy approach of the Valve Index. While the Index offers higher-quality hardware than the Meta Quest series in many regards, the need for a powerful PC and trackers placed around the room makes it less immediately accessible to many users. The Steam Frame is capable of running games and tracking positioning on its own, putting it in direct competition with the Meta Quest and other standalone headsets.
The Steam Machine uses the name and concept of Valve’s previous Steam Machine attempts, aiming to combine the strength of the Steam library with the form factor and convenience of a console. This time, it’s a small black cube with an AMD CPU and Radeon GPU. The Steam Controller combines the efforts of Valve’s previous gamepad and the Steam Deck’s button layout, offering the option to use either analogue sticks or touchpads for controls.
Steam Is Getting Serious About Hardware
While Valve made it clear that the Steam Deck hardware wouldn’t be frequently updated, it’s still surprising to see three new hardware offerings introduced before a Steam Deck revision. At the same time as Microsoft is pivoting from a hardware to software focus in games, Valve is making the opposite maneuver, attempting to land products in markets where it’s previously struggled.
If the Steam Deck is anything to go by, all three new options stand a good chance of being both reliable and fairly priced, an increasing rarity in the gaming market. With increasing console prices and a larger PC base than ever, the Steam Machine may scrape out a niche, and the Steam Frame could provide a much-needed alternative to Facebook’s — ahem, Meta’s — VR offerings. Steam is gunning for the big leagues, and it might just work this time.