The Steam Frame is ‘just around the corner’ but the Steam Machine has already killed my interest — only Half-Life could save it now hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector) | usagoldmines.com

• A VR game developer has teased that the Steam Frame is landing soon
• The Steam Machine launched at a much higher-than-expected price
• A Half-Life game has been teased for the Steam Frame, but would that save it?

When Valve’s new hardware was announced late last year, I couldn’t care less about the Steam Machine; I was far more interested in the Steam Frame standalone VR headset it was preparing for us.

At the time, I was convinced it might not only kill the Meta Quest 3, but it could revitalize the whole VR gaming space.

With reports that the Steam Frame is “just around the corner” — according to Gunman Contracts developer ANB_Seth on Discord, who said the game will launch alongside the headset, with the team and publisher confident that launch is coming soon — I should therefore be extremely excited.

I’m not.

And it’s all thanks to the Steam Machine.

My excitement is measurable (it’s low)

The debut announcement lacked pricing or a release date for the Frame or Machine, but there was plenty of excitement at the possibility the gadgets promised. However, since then the Steam Machine made its full-on debut with a thud rather than a thunderous applause — middling specs were met with a ridiculous $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609 starting price.

Admittedly, the RAM crisis plays a big part. The computing component cost crunch has made RAM and other essential computing parts a lot more expensive. This isn’t helped by Valve’s insistence on not copying the wider industry’s approach to undercut themselves with console pricing — selling at a loss to build a community base that’ll help them recoup revenue with software sales — meaning its tech looks relatively expensive.

The Steam Frame will likely cost similar to its Machine sibling, perhaps more once you factor in controllers if they are included by default (they aren’t for the Steam Machine) and its need for a display. Even if it’s effectively a wearable Steam Deck, I have no interest in paying this much for a gaming-focused headset.

Why?

Because if I want to play non-VR games, a handheld will always be more comfortable than a bulky headset for long play sessions — and if I do turn to a headset, a more versatile option like the Samsung Galaxy XR would allow me to stream flat games and be productive from one single VR machine.

The Steam Frame is expected to be a gaming-capable gadget only.

Meanwhile, for VR games, the Meta Quest 3S costs half as much as the Steam Frame and can play basically any worthwhile VR game. The exceptions are a handful of PC-VR exclusives which require a half-decent PC to run them, though there aren’t many of these.

One of the few non-Meta Quest 3S-playable VR games worth your time is the now six-year-old Half-Life: Alyx. And here lies the only thing that could convince me the Steam Frame is a good idea: we get a new Valve game exclusive to the system.

There are rumors Valve is working on a follow-up to Half-Life: Alyx, and if that’s true, and it’s a PCVR exclusive that plays best on the Steam Frame, then that could be enough to convince some folks to buy into its upcoming hardware.

Now, this wouldn’t change my mind specifically — the Half-Life hype passed me by — but for major fans of the series it could seriously help Valve’s hardware’s popularity. Conversely, if it’s a flat game you can play on any Steam-compatible PC with decent specs, I don’t see it saving the Steam Frame.

Of course we’ll have to wait and see what Valve has in store for us — there’s no guarantee the Steam Frame is anywhere close to launch, just a hunch from a developer — but I expect we won’t be waiting too much longer for Valve’s VR hardware. And when it does finally debut, I can pass my final verdict, though I’m not holding my breath that it’ll be any better than our three-and-a-half-star Steam Machine rating.