t’s certainly been a journey for Valve. A week prior to the Steam Frame’s launch, we spoke with two engineers at Valve about the project: Joy Lyons, hardware engineer, and Jeremy Selan, software engineer. The memory crisis and the price were a big part of that conversation. From that chat, we can confirm that Valve had aimed for a lower price point than the one it’s launching the Frame for today.
Here’s Lyons on the memory crisis:
“We set out to design this hardware with one particular price in mind, but we’ve made choices to make sure that we’re making a product that is choiceful, that people can purchase, they can upgrade with different features later. But we wanted to make sure we had a base product with really great performance. Then that price target shifted due to the ongoing RAM crisis around the world.”
Lyons also said that forecasting for the cost of certain components used in the Steam Frame is an ongoing challenge.
Not exactly boding well of the Steam Deck 2.
I know that they had to release it, after all the R&D, but the way they did is just bad. Having to pay for the charger separately. Having to pay the comfort pack separately. Receiving only 1 game, which is a 6 year old game that cost £13, currently. Having no color pass-through, without paying extra. Why would anybody go out and buy this, if they haven’t bought already a VR headset. Yes privacy is nice, but there are others that also do it and cheaper (especially second hand). Especially knowing this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiadamborsky/2026/05/05/inside-leviathan-why-gabe-newells-new-yacht-is-a-total-game-changer/
What I don’t understand is why didn’t they release a “Steam Frame Lite” that is just the VR headset without the onboard computer. It would be cheaper, lighter, and still fit most users.
You need the whole setup for streaming. You could maybe save ram ny using 8 gigs instead of 16 but at that point its just better to have one sku. From ltts review it seems like the hardware is used pretty heavily even when streaming the games.
I presume it’s the onboard computer that does the camera processing for tracking, and managing the wireless stream when streaming. They’d need to get a supply of cheaper chips that can still keep up with the processing, alongside less RAM and minimal storage, and develop a cut down system image that cannot run games and only does tracking and streaming. Unless you want a wired steam frame, I guess.
Which is all feasible, but it would take work, and then you’d get to manufacturing another variant, maintaining another version of firmware/software, how many people would go for it. And I have the impression Valve is already having trouble procuring enough hardware as is.
Because it will take a year and a billion dollars to design, will still cost more than Quest since they won’t subsidize it and nobody will buy it?
nobody will buy it
If it’s a Valve product, it’s going to be sold out
Yes, but putting everything aside, why not? /s
I am still picking one up as I just want a headset with good Linux support that won’t spy on me. I’m coming from an OG Vive, so it should still feel like a big upgrade.
I’ll absolutely pick one up unless I get backlogged hard like I did with the machine.
I wanted one as an upgrade to my vive, but $1800+ is a little too steep for my wallet, the vive cost me $699 when I got it
I’m ok with it Valve. I might not be able to pick one up right now but it doesn’t mean I’m not interested. Just please don’t give up on FEX-EMU. That to me is the true value proposition of all this.
That and i really hope it is as open and upgradeable as the steam deck. Valve bought a lot of my good will with the choices for the deck, i hope they don’t meta everything up
Yeah, my experience with the Steam Deck is why I am even considering this despite the price.
ARM is arguably more closed source than x86. Most ARM computers violate the Linux GPL license and run a closed-source fork of Linux.
FEX is cool, but I’ll wait until RISC-V becomes viable before I switch away from x86.
I’m more excited about the waydroid integration, I want to run android TV apps on my Steam Machine.
I’d say ARM makes sense for headsets for now because of the Oculus headsets, but I wouldnt be surprised if the Steam Frame 2 ran on x86.
I wouldnt be surprised if the Steam Frame 2 ran on x86.
Chance is higher that Steam DECK 2 will be ARM/Snapdragon. So far nobody seems to capitalize on the fact that x64 ran out of patent protection this year.
So far nobody seems to capitalize on the fact that x64 ran out of patent protection this year.
Maybe we’ll finally see some more competitors appear in that space and drive competition
The rumors seem to say it will be another AMD chip.
At the moment, there is no ARM SoC that is as efficient at idle as Intel’s Panther Lake, so I dont know why Valve would tie themselves down with Qualcomm and have bad Linux support and shitty BIOS.
It’s hard to look at the new Intel Panther Lake processors and see that the advantages of ARM outweigh the disadvantages. Look at the new Intel handhelds, they just operate on a whole new level of efficiency.
I have yet to be aware of any Intel Arc G3 handheld that manages to come down to the 540g in weight of a Switch 2 console. The Acer Atlas 7 has a smaller screen and yet weighs a bit under 700g, so 150g more while it has a smaller screen.
No but they’re also far more powerful than a Switch.
That’s just wholly incorrect.
Can you run Linux on your cellphone, can you run Linux on the Raspberry Pi 5? No, you have to use the manufacturer’s closed source OS (forked from Linux). Some manufacturers release their source code, but a lot of them don’t.
Here’s a blog explaining how you can’t run vanilla Linux on a raspberry pi and the extremely complicated way to use the open source raspi code to compile your own kernel:
Yes, I can. Manufacturers literally CAN NOT closed-source fork the kernel, because of its licensing. They HAVE to release the exact kernel sources used for the device.
You can also run fully open Linux on your Pi5. There will be some firmware blobs, but then again so will any x86 board.
Oh, and smartphones run ANDROID. Not just Linux, but a completely separate layer on top of it that is much different from the traditional desktop environments. Android isn’t Linux, it runs on top of the Linux kernel. Sure manufacturers don’t release their Android source, because they don’t have to, but equating Android with Linux is idiotic.
You seem to have a very… loose grasp as to what is considered open source and what “Linux” is.
Here’s a quick bootcamp: any fork of the Linux kernel is still Linux. Does the RasPi5 require a custom kernel? Yes. Does that make it any less open? No. Does that make it any less Linux? Also no.
The kernel sources for Raspberry Pi boards are readily available. No request for access needed. You can clone the repo any time. That is open source.
Samsung, Google, Motorola, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Nothing, etc. all either provide open repos for kernel sources, or provide them upon request (as per the GPLv2 license of the kernel). That’s still open source. And just because each phone manufacturer - as well as each SoC manufacturer - had to make changes that aren’t in mainline, doesn’t make that any less open or any less Linux.
In fact Google has been pioneering a way to get better kernel baseline support via GKIs, and manufacturer support for a lot of boards and SoCs have been introduced in the mainline kernel.
But the thing is that ARM is progressing fast, with quite a few SoC/core manufacturers on the market (Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, HiSilicon/Huawei, MediaTek, Amlogic, Allwinner, Broadcom, Rockchip, NXP, UNISOC, and so on), whereas X86 has two manufacturers who do end to end development in-house, and at a slower pace (usually one class of CPUs announced a year). The thing is, mainline WILL pay behind because ARM just progresses so fast that reviewing all the changes to add a new SoC to the supported list cannot happen overnight. That’s why forks exist.
But, I repeat, that fork makes it no less Linux nor any less open source.
Manufacturers literally CAN NOT closed-source fork the kernel, because of its licensing. They HAVE to release the exact kernel sources used for the device.
Legally aren’t allowed to, may not care anyway. Chinese legal system doesn’t enforce this.
The big ones obey, because they have international presence. From what I’ve heard, the small ones will provide it on request, since chances are they have no financial reason not to anyway.
Yep.
A decade or so ago it used to be that GPL source requests/demands were an uphill battle. You had to beg, threaten legal action, for months to get somewhere.
Nowadays most manufacturers recognise that open sourcing actually helps them because people will create custom ROMs, or do the kernel upbring for newer versions the ODM refused to, so now with 0 work you have a new BSP and can push updates faster.
Yes and also yes. What???
Your phone runs mainline Linux? You dont need to download a closed source binary blob from the vendor?
Does your phone show up on this list?
https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
Notice how I dont have to ask this question if somebody owns a normal x86 computer.
Troll harder bud.
Yes, you do have to ask that question, dummy.
Just look at every single newer generation x86 CPU. Until direct support is added in the kernel (which usually happens early on because Intel and AMD use a singular architecture for each generation so support is easy), shit’s so broken it won’t even boot.
You don’t need to download a closed source binary blob from the vendor
Except, you know, the CPU microcode package, the GPU drivers, the WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. firmware (via the linux-firmware package), and the list goes on.
Buddy, we’ve already established that your knowledge of Linux et al is surface level at best, why are you still digging your own grave with verificably incorrect/incomplete statements that literally move the goalposts of this debate every time you reply?
Can you run Linux on your cellphone, can you run Linux on the Raspberry Pi 5?
Wtf? The vast majority of phones do run Linux, and most of the rest (iPhones) run UNIX. And since when is raspberry pi 5 not Linux?
I’m taking a very narrow definition of Linux here to say that a manufacturer shipping you a disk image with a precompiled version of Linux (that is closed source) is not proper linux.
If Linus Torvalds and co can’t make your computer run, then its not a good computing experience.
Darwin != Linux, either.
Darwin is UNIX. And anyone who knows what they’re talking about wouldn’t confuse the two.
lol
I can absolutely build the Linux kernel for arm from source for the raspberry pi. Whether it is using the open source raspberry pi fork or mainline. I can put any of at least a dozen fully open distros on it. Etc.
Maybe there’s some devices/manufacturers doing this and that’s what you’re thinking of, but your core argument here is 100% wrong.
some devices = virtually every android phone.
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They run android, it’s not the same.
Lots of distros “aren’t the same”, but android runs the Linux kernel at its core.
Whether you like it or not, it’s Linux
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Yes, I am running PostmarketOS on my cellphone. It is called PinePhone.
Can you run Linux on your cellphone, can you run Linux on the Raspberry Pi 5?
Yes and yes. In fact, I currently do both of those.
OK cool, how much is broken when you use a mainline kernel, like the one I use on a normal x86 laptop?
Nothing. Also, why do you keep changin the requirements? First it was “you can’t run Linux”, then it became “you can’t run a mainline kernel”.
Even DietPi where you can install it to pretty much everything? Even x86. Even armv6.
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The drivers are also open source, genius.
ARM is arguably more closed source than x86. Most ARM computers violate the Linux GPL license and run a closed-source fork of Linux.
Honey, you can even run Asahi Linux (fully FOSS) on Apple Silicon. WTF are you taking about?
Not for a lack of Apple trying to lock it down.
Asahi Linux does not work on the latest macs, and most of the features on M1/M2 do not work.
You dont have these issues with x86, because it is more open source than ARM. AMD and Intel treat Linux as a first-class citizen and upload code for their computers directly to Mainline Linux.
Literally, none of these things is true.
If you spent as much time on research, as you apparently do one making shit up, you would know that.
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First of all, ARM is not owned by Apple, and if it weren’t so open, so open source friendly, Apple would not have been able to create Apple Silicon chips in the first place.
Secondly, lol, Asahi Linux proved that, not only could apple’s apple silicon chips be reversed engineered, but that it was both a worthwhile enterprise and that Apple wouldn’t come after them. Because Apple officially stated that they just do not care. Apple intentionally designed the chips to be capable of booting and running alternate operating systems. They, themselves, created a very clear and open development pathway.
Oh, not to mention that it is definitely Linux.
So… That’s what the fuck I’m talking about. Again, what the fuck are you talking about?
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– person who doesnt know anything at all about the entire marketing behind the steamframe
I wonder what that price was. According to https://pcpartpicker.com/trends/ 16GB RAM seems to be up by about $100 to $150, 256GB SSDs are up by about $75 to $100. So probably the price they were at last year was around $849
All semiconductors are up because the same fabs make it all.
Further, hardware producers are likely starting to look at the “new normal” of ever-increasing prices as a reason to be extra conservative on pricing, because pricing for this moment sets them up to have to increase the price if costs continue to rise, turning customers off even more.
I suspect it was $500-600.
I’ll get one, eventually, but it’s a big purchase. It’ll probably be a next year sort of deal. I kind of figured the original price was around $750 for the entry level version, they would have probably had a 512 version but that would create a problem of segmentation of already expensive hardware. Thanks by the way, Sam Altman. Why don’t you go hump a black marker won’t ya?
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People don’t have a spare thousand dollars… They just don’t.
Yes, that’s why they’re having to limit purchases to make sure the scalpers don’t get them all
That’s OK my OG Steam Deck runs like a champ with no sign of slowing down. I’d rather they wait longer and release a truly worthy successor than release something underwhelming sooner.
But this is about the Frame?
Yeah. This sucks.
I was hoping for a new generation of hardware but I do t feel like it’s worth it at current prices.
It feels like a large expense for a step sideways.
I also wish that, Valve.
Maybe they shouldn’t have shipped it at all and blamed it on Trump + GOP…
I just wish they had better support for Linux out of the box. Still on the fence about buying one, but it’s more battery and performance related than price related (though the price is oof, fucking data centers and AIssholes)
I just know it would have been $600 if our biggest issue was still cryptobros.
$600 is still insanely expensive for my usage, but somewhat justifiable
It would be worth the price if they had more games to offer for it. They had how many years since half life alyx?
I’m hard pressed to blame Valve for that. They’ve made massive contributions to a VR ecosystem that almost everyone seems to have stagnated in developing for.
I love VR, but it is something strange to think I’m still mostly playing the same games I bought 10 years ago. Some big players got in on it, but only to port their titles (Bethesda, mostly). Some devs have made some really cool things and development has never ceased for them, but Alyx is an outlier, really. As much as I’d like to see a follow up from Valve, I’d as much like to see that kind of energy from anyone.
You could point to Meta VR exclusives, but they hurt themselves through exclusivity.
I really hope that with the recent non-VR port of Alyx, Valve will go with this new hybrid approach - making games that run on both VR and regular modes.
I dunno. Alyx is the only game that makes me want to try VR. Nobody is really making any VR games for PC at all so who is to blame?
Meta/the Zucc. They bought up literally (I don’t mean figuratively) every single game studio that made a successful VR game, strung them along for three years, and then pulled the plug and shut them all down en masse.
Wow, $1100 for the entry level. I wouldn’t pay $500.
If you wouldn’t pay $500, then VR just isn’t for you. And that’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s basically the baseline bottom of the barrel price for this type of device (and the ones priced like that come with a LOT of caveats), so if you wouldn’t pay that price, why are you even part of the discussion? You were never the target audience in the first place.
Gatekeeping who can post or join the discussion? Yeah, its not the most useful but they can comment. Completely vibes based, I would also say around 500-700 dollars would be a more comfortable price than 1.1k. At four figures its very off putting even if it is its own standalone system because of the type of device it is. I had hoped for a price that the broader market would accept rather than just VR enthusiasts too much like the person you responded to.
I’m not gatekeeping who can participate, I was asking why they would want to participate, particularly with a comment that just amounts to ‘I wouldn’t buy this device at any price it would reasonably have been priced at’. Like, okay, but then why are you here?
It was originally forecast (by Valve) at “less than $1000”, which to me meant $900-$1000. I’m not pleased with the current price, either, but it was never going to be $500, not in the best possible case scenario.
That less than 1000 announcement had me mentally pricing it at 600-800. Which is more reasonable if a little expensive. Four figures is prohibitive for most people. Just because its Valve, and supply chains are fucked, doesn’t mean this is a good deal or that Valve needs protecting. We know they got fucked too. This is still really expensive. Especially when I already have a computer than can do everything but the VR part. But either way, they can come in here, say their piece and get downvoted, but being like “WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE” is an overreaction to someone just saying their piece on a public forum in any case.
I am the target though as I’ve wanted to get a VR setup for awhile now. I can get a Quest 3 used for $320. $1100 is just pissing your money away.
Gamers Nexus went over the privacy concerns with the Meta Quest 3 and they’re arguably worse than LGs TV fiasco. That is the price you pay for cheaper devices in this market. I’d rather the extra price overhead rather than giving a corporation access to everything in my home with cameras and microphones attached to my face but that’s just me.
Have fun in Meta’s walled garden then…
Walled garden? It’s android and installing any APK is not prevented in any way. You can even run your own unsigned code.
The privacy violations, however, are an inexcusable showstopper.
The VR/AR SDK isn’t open so good luck making your own apps.
Android apps don’t work directly on it.
Bootloader cannot be unlocked.
You can’t use it without a Meta account.
For all intents and purposes it’s a walled garden.
It’s more the absolutely egregious privacy concerns than anything else. They’re selling them at a loss because they make up the difference by selling your data, and the data they collect is unreal.
That’s implied with the walled garden part. Meta keeps very tight control of the platform et al to ensure absolute datamining possibilities.
I will, thanks
He was insulting your intelligence. If you could comprehend, you might be upset.
I thought about the Quest 3 route but the idea of being locked into Meta’s bullshit environment is enough to drive me to the Frame, even at that price. It’s what burned me on the Quest 2, which was a really cool piece of tech but ruined by all that metaverse shit that ended up bloating my Q2 so bad it can’t even turn on.
Ya enjoy your locked ecosystem. There a reason the quest is so cheap. You aren’t getting anything worth it for 500$, especially not with the inflation in tech. What a silly thing to say.
Ya enjoy wasting $1100 on something that will collect dust 95% of the time you own it. You’ll never use any headset enough to justify that price. Just ask the Apple zombies. But it’s Gabe so better defend my favorite billionaire.
To be fair it won’t record everything happening at my house like me entering passwords on my keyboard while it collects dust. I won’t go to jail and be tortured to death because of steam frame, so I think in the modern world that’s a win.
At least you OWN the thing, not the other way around.
Bro, I hate Gaben and bash steam every chance I get. I’m not in the Gaben Simp Squad, believe me. It’s a good product though, same for the steam deck. Still a soft monopoly and the cunt has too many boats, but credit where credit is due.
I’m also not getting it because I’m simply not that into VR, at least at that price point. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad headset.
I’m sure it is a solid product, but charging $1100 when a comparable option can be found for half the price is insulting. Privacy concerns be damned, they all spy on you. VR is and will always be niche. This product will not appeal to general consumers. There is no killer app and it’s way out of price.
Honestly, what comparable options. I’ve looked. There’s the quest, but it’s sold at a loss, is honestly not very strong and it has a locked ecosystem which is a real boner killer imo.
Honest question: why don’t you get that cheap Quest3 then?
Better lens and better screen resolution.
What you seem to be saying is that you want to pay an entry-level price for an enthusiast tier device, and like… yeah, we all would, but we don’t realistically expect anyone to sell it to us for that price.
Ah misread that. I thought they meant the Quest 3S which has the inferior lens and screen resolution. The Quest 3 resolution is very close to the Steam Frame and I can get one for around $300.
Sure - the primary strikes against the Quest 3 are the absolutely egregious privacy concerns, and the closed ecosystem. If neither of those are dealbreakers for you, go get one.
Then no, you are not the target then. If you cannot afford it, then it isn’t for you.
I can afford it, I’m just not dumb enough to pay it.
Seems to me this is just not something that interests you. Why are you so down on others for enjoying something you wouldnt?
Mostly because you can’t speak ill of valve or the Gabe cucks come out in droves. Its pathetic to see lemmings simping for another shit billionaire. I guess that’s to be expected from gaming “culture.”
It’s a decision of conscience. Do you:
- get a product that respects you and will be supported by Valve like all their hardware (the ancient Steam Link still works fine!) at a higher price or
- get a product that spies on you from all angles and sells your data to everyone who wants it, even the police, at a lower price point, while it might be become legacy hardware at the drop of the hat?
I know where i will be spending my cash.
Edit: one of the reviewers of the comparison between the Quest 3 and the Frame at GN started getting advertisements on his private phone for VR stuff after working with the Quest. That’s the level of privacy the Quest offers you: none.
How are we in the year 2026 and still not realizing every single device connected to the internet is spying on you? No corporation respects you, their fiduciary duty is to extract as much wealth from you as possible. This is why the Gabe cultists are so disappointing. Sure, Valve is the best of the gaming industry, but that’s like being the least smelly shit sandwich.
Valve was very open regarding what information they collect. Outside of the data they already process via the steam client like what games you are playing to make fitting store recommendations, they only receive any operational data from the Frame when you send bug reports, which you must approve for every single one of them. I have a Steam account now since HalfLife2 has released with over 1400 titles in it, and i never got any ads on my phone for even a single PC game.
Hey if you can justify $1100 towards some plastic that will collect dust more power to ya. I don’t trust Valve’s word like I don’t trust Meta’s. They’re all the same corporation at the end of the day. $300 is a lot more digestible for something that’s really still a curiosity and won’t replace traditional gaming. I’m mostly just disappointed so many here are defending this corporate slop.
I will pay extra for devices that don’t spy on me. There’s a market for it, and I’m the target audience. If I don’t fork out for devices that respect my privacy, they won’t exist in the future, and I can kiss goodbye the chance of ever having a full suite of devices that aren’t constantly selling every moment of my life to advertisers and whoever else wants it.
My next phone will probably run GrapheneOS. My car is a 2016 hatchback that I removed the OnStar module from myself. I don’t have Alexa, I don’t have a smart home, I don’t have a Ring doorbell. My laptop is a Framework that I’m strongly considering installing Linux on as its primary OS. Every computer I use has Firefox as its browser with multiple privacy-focused plugins. Your argument is shit and you should feel bad for making it. More devices that respect privacy is better, and just throwing your hands up and saying ‘They all do it, give up!’ is both idiotic and counter-productive.
If youre interested Gamernexus did a review alongside metaquest3. I value my privacy, to that end I’m full-on leaning toward Frame, additional cost up front is nothing compared to what would be lost with Zucks VR iteration, in my mind. No one should tell you how to spend your money though, friend.
