Valve opens Steam Frame VR pre-orders at $1,049 with Half-Life: Alyx bundled
Valve's new VR headset costs more than a mid-tier GPU — worth it depends on specs we don't have yet
Valve opened pre-orders for the Steam Frame VR headset today, pricing it at $1,049 with Half-Life: Alyx included. The waiting list is live on Steam's VR hardware page, according to VGC.
The Steam Frame is Valve's successor to the Index, which launched in 2019 at $999 for the full kit. Valve hasn't disclosed specs yet — no word on resolution, refresh rate, or whether it's a standalone or PC-tethered headset. The Alyx bundle sweetens the deal if you missed it the first time, but that game is five years old now.
At $1,049, the Frame sits above Meta Quest 3 ($499) and below the Varjo Aero ($1,990). Whether that price lands depends entirely on the spec sheet Valve hasn't shown yet. If it's 4K per eye at 120Hz with wide FOV, it could justify the cost. If it's closer to Index specs, it's a hard sell in 2026.
Check BetterFPS's VR performance guides to see if your rig can handle high-end VR before dropping a grand on a headset.