I am once again reporting to you that the Steam Frame might be launching soon™. It's been years (actual years) since we first heard about Valve's next VR headset through rumors, Gabe Newell referring to its existence, its days labelled as Valve Deckard, and it's even been the better part of a year since Valve officially revealed it.
Following delays and a launch window of "sometime this summer", we've now had close to 10 minutes' worth of user guide videos leak online as Steam store assets, and it doesn't seem like Valve is that fussed about them staying in the public eye because they're still available to watch on Reddit and multiple sources on YouTube. At this point, does Valve even care about trying to keep this thing under wraps ahead of launch?
New Frame welcome video's pushed to Steam Store assetsfrom r/SteamFrame
Among the leaked clips we have are unboxing, fit, login, IPD, wireless adapter, controller straps and accessories, and headstrap setup videos. All are a few minutes or so in length, detailing handy tutorial processes for the new setup.
You can see all of the videos by clicking through the linked Reddit post above, or you can watch them all strung together on YouTube thanks to Tyriel Wood - VR Tech's channel.
We've seen plenty about this headset already, so I wouldn't necessarily say we've learned all that many "new" bits of information about it from the videos, but it's certainly interesting to know more about how the headset will function on a practical level.
For example, there's an IPD lock to make sure your lenses stay in place between sessions so that your perfect optical setup doesn't get lost each time you use it. Similarly, glasses wearers are satiated by a clever, magnetic spacer you can put under the facial interface, which will mean you're less likely to damage the lenses by smushing your glasses into them.
Signing in to the headset can be done through the mobile app or manually on the headset's virtual keyboard. Valve even makes comment on these being less than ideal and "clunky" methods of logging in, but "historically accurate".
Also present is an ergonomic accessories kit which includes a larger light guard for users with smaller noses, some wrist straps for the controllers, and a top headstrap to make your fit more secure.
Weeks ago now, I falsely predicted that we'd see the headset launch imminently, since we were seeing similar signposting and leaked details to when the Steam Controller and Steam Machine were just weeks away from hitting the shelves. That included shipping manifests that showed VR headsets from Valve arriving in warehouses, as well as an influx of Steam Frame assets and tags hitting the Steam store.
To my shame, I was wrong about that, which also tracks since it was suggested Valve was still working on the headset's gamepad mode feature that allows you to use the Steam Frame's controllers as a split gamepad to play flat-screen games.
I thought for sure that we'd get the Steam Frame by this point in the summer. If I get really granular about it, we're now looking at a similar gap between the Steam Machine and Steam Frame's launches (7.5 weeks) as we had between the Steam Controller and Steam Machine (8 weeks). Does that point to the headset arriving soon? I'd say yes, but I've been wrong before, and I've now been reporting on this headset through rumours and predictions for so long I'm losing faith Valve will ever actually launch it.
Will it be retired into gaming's fever dream history like Half Life 3? While we're on hypotheticals and predictions, I also asked all of you how much the Steam Frame should cost, and I was a little shocked at the result. Even so, I'm still convinced that this device could be the VR market's Steam Deck moment.
You can stream games from one of the best gaming PCs or one of the best gaming laptops straight into the Steam Frame headset.
