Valve’s new Steam Frame VR headset has finally launched after months of delays. The launch also confirms the price – it starts at $1,059 for the 256GB kit and $1,299 for 1TB. The four-figure price tag may be a dealbreaker for many, but it’s not unexpected given the current market. Valve first announced the Frame last November, and it was originally set to be much cheaper.

Following its launch, Valve admits the Steam Frame should have been a “much more affordable” piece of hardware, though the company has not given any specific figure – and maybe that’s for the best. In any case, the launch comes about two-and-a-half months after the Steam Machine, which also suffers from inflated prices due to industry-wide RAM and memory shortages.

Steam Frame likely would have been less than $1,000

Speaking to the BBC, Valve developer Jeremy Selan says the company initially planned for a more affordable device, something we suspect may have been cheaper than its last VR headset, the Valve Index (which had a $999 price tag for the full kit when it launched in 2019). The Frame boasts a much more streamlined design than the Index, ditching the wire to become a “streaming-first” headset.

Aside from the entry price, there are also a few accessories to consider. Steam Frame does not ship with a power supply, meaning you may need to purchase a $29 power supply unit to charge it (if you own a Steam Deck charger or 45W+ USB-C charger, those will work just fine). There’s also the Ergonomic Accessories Kit and the Accessory Replacement Kit to consider as optional extras:

• Steam Frame: $1,299 (1TB kit) / $1,059 (256GB kit)
• Steam Hardware Power Supply Unit: $29
• Steam Frame Ergonomic Accessories Kit: $59
• Steam Frame Accessory Replacement Kit: $49

“We set out to come out with a device that would have been much more affordable, but the global RAM market has impacted us the same way it’s impacted everybody.”

Valve developer Jeremy Selan, via BBC

As previously rumored, Valve’s blockbuster VR title, Half-Life: Alyx, ships free with the Steam Frame. The 2020 title typically costs $59.99 but is frequently discounted, most recently as low as $14.99 (which is the current price, at the time of writing).

For reference, the Steam Frame is fitted with 16GB of Unified LPDDR5X RAM in both the 256GB and 1TB storage options. All sorts of RAM-reliant hardware has been impacted by the price of memory over the past year or so, including PC parts such as graphics cards – we recently noticed Nvidia’s flagship RTX 5090 now costs more than $6,500, and rival AMD cards also continue to rise.

Rising memory costs also forced Valve to raise the price of its popular Steam Deck handheld. The handheld is now only available in OLED variants following the discontinuation of the original 60Hz LCD model. After a restock at the new, higher prices, with the 512GB and 1TB models jumping up by 43% and 46%, respectively, Steam Deck sales tanked and haven’t really recovered.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.