Valve has unveiled three new hardware products, all slated for release in early 2026. A new ecosystem consisting of the Steam Frame, Steam Machines, and Steam Controllers.
Steam Frame is a VR extension of Steam Deck. It is equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ARM64 chip instead of Qualcomm XR2 and runs SteamOS directly. Users can copy games from PC to micro SD card and run them as is. Not only VR titles, but also regular games can be played on a large screen. The connection with PC has also been strengthened. It uses a dedicated 6GHz-based wireless protocol for reduced latency streaming and eye-tracking-based foveated streaming for more stable PC VR games. The resolution is 2160 x 2160 per eye and the field of view is 110 degrees, similar to Meta Quest 3. The 21Wh battery is located on the rear strap for balance.
Steam Machines are console-style PCs that plug directly into your TV. They feature a sleek cube-shaped design with a magnetic, interchangeable front panel and LED lighting at the bottom. Inside, they feature a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 CPU and RDNA3 GPU, which Valve claims are approximately six times more powerful than the Steam Deck. They support 4K 60fps and ray tracing, aiming to compete head-on with TV game consoles. As with the early versions, performance varied between games, but Valve plans to continue optimizing them at launch.
The new Steam Controller is a wireless controller that replicates the Steam Deck's control system. It supports not only sticks and trigger buttons, but also dual trackpads and gyro controls, and includes a dedicated wireless dongle to reduce latency. The rear grip button, which switches between control modes, has received positive reviews for its user experience. This controller can also be used with the Steam Deck and Steam Frame, making it a key element in expanding the Steam ecosystem.
