Valve’s Steam Frame to Start at $1,059 with Native Half-Life: Alyx Port Included and Order Lottery

Valve has revealed the pricing and sales rules for its new standalone VR headset, the Steam Frame. The base version with 256GB of storage will cost $1,059, while the top-tier 1TB model is priced at $1,299. Package contents include proprietary controllers and a free copy of Half-Life: Alyx, ported to ARM architecture to run without a PC connection.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Native Wireless Half-Life: Alyx

The main technical milestone of this release is bringing the flagship VR shooter to mobile hardware. According to specialized publication UploadVR, Valve built a full native ARM64 port of Half-Life: Alyx. The game runs standalone directly on the headset’s chip with no storyline compromises, supporting cloud saves via Steam Cloud.

The headset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with 16GB of RAM. It features dual displays with a resolution of 2160 × 2160 per eye and a microSD card expansion slot.

For PC gaming enthusiasts, Valve included a dedicated wireless Wi-Fi 6E USB adapter in the box, providing a direct video streaming link from PC to headset without delays or home router interference.

Reservation Lottery and a Power Adapter Sold Separately

The pre-order process mirrors the Steam Deck rollout. According to The Verge, sign-ups in the Steam Store opened on September 14 and will run until September 17 (10:00 AM PT).

Once registration closes, the system will randomly select buyers for the first batch: on September 18, winners will receive personal invitations giving them 72 hours to complete their order. Everyone else will join a queue for future shipments.

One disappointing surprise is the bundle contents: the thousand-dollar box does not include a charger. The official USB-C adapter must be purchased separately for $29.

Additionally, as reported by Road to VR, Valve will offer an ergonomic $59 Comfort Kit featuring a top strap, an improved light-blocking face gasket, and controller lanyards.

Starting at $1,059, the Steam Frame is positioned in the premium segment for SteamVR enthusiasts, relying on visual quality and Valve’s native library rather than price cutting.