Valve has finally put a number on its long-awaited VR headset, ending months of speculation about what buyers will actually need to spend, and also sharing the important details behind what to expect in its release.
The reveal comes alongside details on how people can actually get their hands on one once orders open.
Valve Unveils Steam Frame's Price Tag
Valve confirmed pricing for the Steam Frame, and it starts at $1,199 for the 256GB configuration, with the 1TB model landing higher. The number lines up closely with the range analysts had been circling for months, following a wave of leaks that pointed toward a price well above $1,000 once rising memory and chip costs were factored in.
The pricing also mirrors the pattern set by the Steam Machine, Valve's other big hardware release this year, which launched at $1,049 for its base configuration before climbing past $1,300 for higher-tier models.
Valve had originally hoped to price the Steam Frame below the $999 Valve Index from 2019, but the ongoing memory and storage shortage affecting the wider tech industry pushed that goal out of reach.
Valve Steam Frame Now Available to Order
Steam Frame is here! Our wireless VR headset + controllers, available now in the following models:
— Valve (@valvesoftware) September 14, 2026
Steam Frame 256GB
Steam Frame 1TB
Sign up now and learn more on @Steam https://t.co/N9IvWskQRP pic.twitter.com/9sfIUSjiwL
Following the price reveal, Valve opened its reservation system for the Steam Frame, using the same deposit-based approach it relied on for the Steam Machine earlier this year.
Rather than a traditional first-come, first-served preorder, interested buyers place a deposit to join a queue, and Valve later processes that queue in batches as units become available for shipment.
This system is designed to cut down on scalpers and resellers snapping up limited stock, a problem Valve has dealt with on past hardware launches.
With this, fans who anticipate its order availability will be able to get a notification from Valve and a guaranteed unit of the new gaming wearable.
Here's How to Sign-Up to Get Your Steam Frame
Signing up works through the Steam Frame page on the Steam store, where buyers select which configuration they want, either the 256GB or 1TB model, and submit a deposit to secure their spot in the reservation queue. Valve then processes orders in the sequence they were received, sending purchase confirmation emails as inventory becomes available rather than shipping every reservation at once.
This staggered rollout mirrors how Valve handled the Steam Machine launch back in June, when the company filled its own reservation queue gradually over several weeks as new stock arrived at its warehouses.
What to Expect From the Steam Frame
The Steam Frame runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X memory, along with dual 2160 by 2160 LCD panels behind pancake lenses. The headset works fully standalone thanks to SteamOS running natively, though it also comes bundled with a dedicated 6GHz wireless adapter built to reduce lag when streaming VR and non-VR games from a PC.
Valve has also built out a certification system called Great on Frame, which flags which titles in a player's library run well on the headset, including popular games like "Portal 2" and "Hades."
Code found within Steam has also suggested buyers could receive "Half-Life: Alyx" for free with their purchase, giving new owners a flagship VR title to jump into right away.
