Steam Frame VR Near Launch: New Shipments and Steamworks SDK 1.65 Point to Imminent Announcement

Valve has hardware for the VR headset; it is starting to show up in warehouses, the Steamworks SDK has been updated, and ratings for game compatibility have gone up. All of these signs point to an announcement soon. Two additional shipments of the Steam Frame have arrived at warehouses in the US, this time including fabric, foam, rubber, and the Wi-Fi dongle adapter for the headset. 

Review outlets have also begun receiving units under embargo. While they are not able to share impressions yet, we can expect an announcement within the next week or two, following a pattern similar to what happened before the Steam Machine and Steam Controller launches, where shipping manifests started appearing roughly a week or two before Valve made an announcement.

Steamworks SDK 1.65 Adds Steam Frame Support

Valve has added the actual name of the upcoming wireless VR headset, Steam Frame, to the Steamworks SDK 1.65. Steam Frame's dongle will stream games from a PC with low latency. The update makes it easier for developers to find the Steam Frame and add support for controllers. This means that when the hardware comes out, games should work properly on it.

The update is mostly about getting the software ready for the headset. The fact that support is still being provided at the software level shows that launch is getting closer. Valve also opened a new section of the Steam store called Great on Frame, which highlights games optimized for the headset.

The section extends the existing Steam Verified framework to the new device. Steam Frame runs on an ARM processor rather than the AMD hardware found in the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, both of which rely on Proton to translate games built for Windows so they run on Linux.

With the Steam Frame, Valve goes a step further by allowing x86 titles to run on an ARM chip. This technical approach raises the possibility of ARM hardware appearing in a future Steam Deck to improve battery and power efficiency. Among the games included in the Great on Frame lineup is Portal 2, which received a Frame Verified rating.

Compatibility Ratings are Increasing

Compatibility ratings for the Steam Deck have been added at a faster pace recently, which is often read as a signal that a release announcement may be close. Over 24 hours, 16 games received a compatibility rating, compared to the previous pace of roughly one every few days.

The titles that received ratings during this period include Beat Saber, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Vacation Simulator, Ink Inside, and Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR. 

The increase could reflect Valve working through a backlog in its verification queue, or it could mean the company is verifying additional titles to build up a library ahead of launch. Based on this pace, an announcement could arrive in the next week or two, and it would not come as a surprise if one arrived before the end of July.

Steam Frame arrives at a time when hardware costs across the industry remain high, and the headset's price is expected to land between $800 and $1000. Despite the cost, continued investment in hardware from Valve is a positive sign, and we hope it does not slow down the company's plans for future devices, including a new Steam Deck, a new Steam Machine, and further development of VR.

Pricing expectations and software support raise questions about VR adoption.

This project could have introduced VR to a wider audience through a familiar and open-ended game. Half-Life: Alyx remains one of Valve's own contributions to this argument, though many players, us included, have yet to experience it despite the reception it received at launch.

Whether the Steam Frame succeeds may depend as much on the software ecosystem as on the hardware itself. An open platform running a VR version of SteamOS gives the headset room to expand beyond gaming into areas like mixed reality. In this area, devices such as the Quest 3 have already shown strong results through features like color pass-through. 

Valve's history with SteamVR, including its role in popularizing the format before other major manufacturers entered the space, suggests the company has the foundation needed to make an impact once the Steam Frame becomes available.