In 2025, the VR/AR space finally has some real competition. In this specs breakdown, we compare the new Steam Frame VR headset versus Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro.

Hands-on with Valve Steam Frame, a light modular VR headset that runs games locally or streams from PC, powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and eye tracking

The new headset is called the Steam Frame, and it’s trying to do several things at once. It’s a standalone VR headset with a smartphone-caliber Arm chip inside that lets you play flat-screen Windows games locally off the onboard storage or a microSD card.

Now, after years of rumors, Valve is finally ready to officially rejoin the VR hardware race. The Steam Frame, set to launch in early 2026, will run both VR and traditional Steam games locally through SteamOS or stream them wirelessly from a local PC.