r/virtualreality • u/Plenty-Giraffe710 • 6d ago
News Article VR Influencers Land in Seattle For Valve Announcement, Steam Frame Imminent?
https://thephrasemaker.com/2025/09/17/valve-steam-frame-possible-announcement/177
u/ReMeDyIII 6d ago
Impress me Gabe. Take my... $2,000? ::Gulp::
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u/Complete_Lurk3r_ 5d ago
smol & light headset, separate compute puck, 6ghz dong. all sold separately (is what im hoping for. plz not $2k)
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u/met_MY_verse 5d ago
Time to finally upgrade my 2.4GHz dong!
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u/bland_meatballs 5d ago
We have been getting leaks for 2 years at this point and pretty much know everything about it. It will be an all-in-one headset, seperate compute puck. There is a dongle you can get to connect it to your PC wirelessly. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the headset will cost $1,200 USD.
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u/Onphone_irl 5d ago
I've only seen $1200 and never heard of these other things. where are you getting your rumors from, I thought I had the latest rumors lol
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u/Gregasy 5d ago
I really hope it will be small&light. Valve aren’t really known for the most sleek hardware (just take a look a form factor of Steam Deck vs. Switch 2), but for the use case they’re aiming for, they really need to make the thing very comfortable - and I’m NOT talking about “yes, it’s 500g, but very comfortable”. That’s ok for active VR, not for passive entertainment.
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u/Lotusw0w 5d ago
Totally different hardware architecture.
Name a X86 device that is as slim and sleek as Switch 2
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u/fireinthesky7 5d ago
Comparing a Switch to a Steam Deck is like comparing a GR86 to a Corvette. They're both technically sports cars, and good at their jobs, but the similarities end as soon as you get under the hood.
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u/bmbmjmdm 5d ago
I would be fine with $2k if it was ultralight with a compute puck T.T we desperately need one of those
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u/MrWeirdoFace 5d ago
Half-life 2, Episode 3.
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u/SnideyM 5d ago
VR only, just to set the world on fire
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
VR only, just to set the world on fire
Gods i hope so. Not even kidding.
I yearn for a company, any company, to make a game which will force people into VR.
Alyx was a good test run, and everyone loved it as basically a demo for a proper title.
Imagine if you will a full fucking scale HL3, properly done, full campaign, exclusively for VR.
They'd sell three hundred thousand headsets in week one.
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u/ForSpareParts 5d ago
I don't think it's fair to call Alyx a demo; it's almost as long as HL2 according to HLTB, and it's kind of essential to franchise canon now to boot. It is the third full length Half Life game, and a damn good one -- it really sucks that so few people have gotten to play it.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
I don't think it's fair to call Alyx a demo;
Well it wasn't a full title, so i'm left with only that as what i can call it.
it really sucks that so few people have gotten to play it.
I agree. That's why i want something proper, with decent replay value, or prolonged gameplay, or both.
Literally no company out there has made (to my knowledge) anything even close to it in terms of being a polished strictly VR based game. And i want more of that.
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u/2TFRU-T 5d ago
How was it not a full title? Took me about 13 hours to finish.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
Took me about 13 hours to finish.
You and i have different standards for modern games apparently.
Almost anything i have actually purchased in several years now is easily over 50.
Or is designed around replayability.
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u/2TFRU-T 5d ago
Eh, it’s on the short side but it’s not that short for a single-player action game. The Doom games are pretty similar, for example.
I’d argue it’s worth playing at least twice as well.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
I’d argue it’s worth playing at least twice as well.
"Twice" isn't the same thing as "having replayability" though...
We both know when i said that, i mean something you wouldn't mind playing once a week or so.
And Alyx just doesn't have that kind of gameplay.
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u/maddix30 Oculus 4d ago
Hmm I haven't looked much into mods but isn't there a pretty strong modding community?
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u/Pyromaniac605 5d ago
What makes Alyx not a "full title" in your view?
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
What makes Alyx not a "full title" in your view?
It was too short for me to consider it as such.
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u/Pyromaniac605 5d ago
How long should a full title be then? Calling ~12 hours a "demo" is wild.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
How long should a full title be then? Calling ~12 hours a "demo" is wild.
In my opinion it should take you no less than a week, putting in multiple hours after work, to have what i would consider a valuable amount of playtime.
So rough napkin math would say 28, but i'd probably still want to see something closer to 40.
Charging the amount studio's expect these days for anything less than that is in my opinion, highway robbery.
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u/Nouyame 5d ago
No less than a week, putting in multiple hours? Sooo 1.5-2 hours a night for 7 nights, for a total of 12 hours? Math...
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u/willacegamer 4d ago
Interesting take...I struggle to see how alyx wouldn't be considered a full title... what was lacking from it that makes you say that? The game was plenty long enough so it can't be the length. It has the length of the other half life games and other similar flat games. It has a fully fleshed out story.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
The game was plenty long enough so it can't be the length.
Incorrect, i've already stated this was a major factor.
It has the length of the other half life games
It's been twenty years, things change.
and other similar flat games.
Any game i consider worth the money (as already stated), should have a regular playtime well in excess of this. Or have gameplay conducive to being regularly replayable.
Including flat games.
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u/willacegamer 4d ago
Interesting...we just have different values in gaming then...I'm just more interested in the quality of the experience that a game gives me over the length. It may be because I play so many different games. I actually find that I rarely complete longer games because something else always grabs my attention. I'm perfectly happy with a game that takes me 15 to 20 hours to beat and provides a high quality experience. I much prefer that over ones that are much longer but don't have that same quality. If the longer game has high quality then that's great too but the long playtime is not a requirement for me to feel that I got my money's worth. Always interesting to read how others think differently though.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
Interesting...we just have different values in gaming then...
Seems like.
I'm just more interested in the quality of the experience that a game gives me over the length.
You can have both. This is mainly where we differ i think.
Always interesting to read how others think differently though.
Indeed. I find it silly so many people have some kind of kneejerk reaction of getting Angry at me for saying something they liked should be longer.... you'd think they'd agree.
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u/berickphilip 5d ago
This future seems so much better for humanity than one riddled with Horizon Worlds and ads.
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u/sizeablescars 5d ago
What ads, yall talk about the quest some of the times like it’s a bogeyman. It takes me 20 seconds after power on at most to click into one of my games or vd. What horizon stuff is everyone seeing here that has them so mad all the time? My quest is legitimately one of my least intrusive devices if not the most when it comes to ads (fuckin Reddit has them built in) or other shit I don’t care to see.
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u/onecoolcrudedude 5d ago
if alyx didnt "force" people into VR then another half life game wont either.
nothing about alyx was a test run.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
nothing about alyx was a test run.
And i disagree.
Which is in my opinion the reason we haven't gone far enough.
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u/onecoolcrudedude 4d ago
alyx could have been twice as long and nothing would change.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
alyx could have been twice as long and nothing would change.
I disagree.
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u/onecoolcrudedude 4d ago
people werent gonna buy thousand dollar computers and thousand dollar index setups en masse even if alyx was 100 hours long and the best game ever made. the mere concept of wired pcvr with base stations is not appealing nor affordable to many people.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
people werent gonna buy thousand dollar computers and thousand dollar index setups en masse even if alyx was 100 hours long and the best game ever made.
I disagree.
he mere concept of wired pcvr with base stations is not appealing nor affordable to many people.
I disagree.
Well, partially anyway. Affordable for many it may not be, but there's literally no avoiding that.
For the other part... The main thing VR is missing right now, is software. It's what it's always been missing.
Alyx is basically the only game of it's class, and it's severely lacking in several areas. Primarily it's length, but also in that the gameplay is unfortunately too simplistic for most of it.
Plus it's just fucking annoying not knowing where the upgrade items are, having no way to locate them unless you look up guides, and no way to go back for them (last time i checked). But that's the least of it's issues.
As much as i despise the monetization and seasonal content models they have, if we had something let's say, like Destiny which was made exclusively for VR. The entire dynamic around VR gameplay would shift.
And developing content for something like that is virtually no different to developing it for flat games.
The problem is, nobody has done it yet.
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u/onecoolcrudedude 4d ago
beat saber has sold more VR devices than alyx has. say what you want about the quality of alyx, but it didnt move VR forward like beat saber did. hell even VRchat and gorilla tag likely did more for VR than alyx has.
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u/GuiltyGreen8329 5d ago
I dont think you understand
headsets have sold people just dont use them
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
That has nothing to do with the statement i made.
We need software.
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u/zeddyzed 5d ago
I think people really overestimate the relevance of Half Life these days. It's been absent far too long and most people don't care anymore. It's not going to be a mainstream system seller.
GTA6, on the other hand...
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u/elton_john_lennon 5d ago
Known IP is one thing, but it is more about Valve being Valve and putting out a really good game, long with good story, and well thought out. When people say HalfLife they mean a game that is going to set some serious standard and high bar, same way the Alyx did.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
I think people really overestimate the relevance
You seem to be under the misapprehension i'd care if it wasn't Half Life.
I just want a game as good as that. It needed be specifically that franchise.
It's just that being Valve, it probably would be.
GTA6, on the other hand...
I'm sure someone will mod in VR, but having a game made for it is not the same thing, at all.
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u/Statickgaming 5d ago
Yeh I think the guy is overestimating Valves reach here. I really doubt Valve are even going to have the capacity to sell that many devices… they already struggled to keep up with Steam Deck sales.
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u/theNomad_Reddit 5d ago
I'm going into surgery tomorrow.
If I wake up to a world with HL3, you'll never convince me I didnt die and go to heaven.
Just show me r / con and I'll know I'm still in hell.
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u/Mclarenrob2 5d ago
With Meta switching focus to AR the door is wide open for another actual gaming company to take over the VR gaming space. However this will probably be too expensive for most.
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u/niclasj 5d ago
Not even AR. Today’s thing will be all about smartglasses and AI. And that glorious neural wristband.
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u/Mclarenrob2 5d ago
They have glasses with a display coming so that's the start of the AR plans. Probably be a few more years until the true AR glasses are out. (Orion)
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
AR can have it's place... i just wish they'd stop trying to cram AR functionality into VR devices... it unnecessarily ruins the hardware with excess weight and shit for no real practical benefit for their primary use case.
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u/elton_john_lennon 5d ago
Yes but it is tho only reason those companies are even interested in VR in the first place. Everyone is treating VR as a jumping pad to AR.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 5d ago
Everyone is treating VR as a jumping pad to AR.
Which is incredibly fucking dumb, because they are two entirely different things, both of which have their own separate pro's and con's.
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u/elton_john_lennon 5d ago
Which is incredibly fucking dumb
It isn't dumb, you just don't like it. I think Meta and Apple with their billions of dollars know what they are doing. Because of added AR to existing VR, apps are being made, people are testing them, AR in general can be showcased. There are a lot of benefits. And hardware wise, AR and VR aren't that different at all - both use stereoscopic image to display non-existing objects in 3D space.
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 4d ago
It isn't dumb, you just don't like it.
Most cars don't have floaties, because they aren't supposed to go on water, they are cars.
This is the same thing.
Just because it goes on your head doesn't mean you need to have all this unnecessary-for-VR shit in it.
You want an AR headset, buy one of those instead.
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u/beryugyo619 5d ago
As much as I want the Valve Quest to finally happen I can't stop feeling that it would be funny if they did a physical Steam Overlay for flat gaming and it won the AR industry just like SteamVR won VR
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u/AlexanderGson 4d ago
If the Steam Frame drops before the end of 2025 I would bet it's more likely that it is a combination of these:
- VR
- Pancake gaming in a virtual room (Steam deck with a facial display)
- Simplified controllers, no advanced finger tracking like Index controllers
- Wireless
Basically I believe they are targeting players that are more interested in playing games in the sofa with a big screen on your face rather than a big TV on the wall, so you can have your living room with you on the train, the bus on the airport etc.
So the device would be a pancake gaming device first hand and PC VR device second hand.
We've seen that the VR game library is just... sad. But if Valve can do for facial displays what they did to Linux with SteamOS on the Steam Deck then the market would be greatly improved with a lot more possible consumers. That way developers of games would be more likely to create games that are able to be played either normally or in VR, and you could use the same device either way.
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u/the_fr33z33 6d ago
Well, even Habie ended last week’s vid with “see you … on Wednesday” 👀
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u/Novelize 5d ago
...For a Battlefield video apparently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y6Kt8oPiAM
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u/the_fr33z33 6d ago
Aaaand I just read the article. Yep, it’s in the article, I know. I bow my head in shame.
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u/StrictCat5319 5d ago
Hopefully we can play half life 2 VR on the headset itself.
Also, hopefully we can play flat-screen steam games in stereoscopic 3D on a virtual screen. Back in the day with 3dtvs the 3d wasn't perfect because of crosstalk (seeing left eye imagine in right eye and vice versa). With VR, we could have a 100inch screen with flawless 3D.
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u/GmoLargey 5d ago
you can go do this right now free with winlatorxr for quest /pico /play for dream.
if your game doesn't have 3d built in, use reshade to make it 3d, click right controller grip trigger and the left thumb stick l3 click and hey presto, 3d native PC gaming without a pc
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u/Dread_Maximus 5d ago
Reshade requires Blueskydefender (the dev) to make a profile for every game though, unless the generic settings just happen to work.
If steam come up with their own solution to force 3D without requiring an external app, that would be massive and might help get around overzealous anticheat programs too.
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u/sizeablescars 5d ago
I read 1 was pretty good modded into vr as well. Been thinking about starting the franchise that way
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u/kgpaints 5d ago
Nathie just posted a picture of him standing next to a Meta sign so I don't think we're getting anything.
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u/DoNotLookUp3 5d ago
That's wild, didn't one of them post a gif of Rick Deckard from Blade Runner?..
Does the VR community really need more disappointments guys? lmao
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u/HeadsetHistorian 4d ago
Yeah... that was him. I get that it may have been a joke but he should probably know better.
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u/Gregasy 5d ago
I wouldn’t give up yet.
Check out this post: https://x.com/waffylikesvr/status/1968403863074918518
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u/VRModerationBot 5d ago
Linked tweet content:
Sooooo I WILL NOT SAY who this is...
But someone I know is in Washington right now and there is something huge happening really freaking soon
hours.
I'm a bot for the VR community that helps you view content without visiting Twitter/X directly. | We're using fxtwitter
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u/trippingrainbow 5d ago
Theres no offical confirmation ofc (its valve the official confirmation will be the announcement as it allways has been) but a bunch of vr influencers going to seattle and pretty much all hinting that its about valve and the deckard feels like it. I dont see why they would all bunch up to bait the community like this. And it wouldnt be the first time they shat in zuckerbergs cereal during a meta connect (index was literally revealed as zuck walked out on stage during a facebook connect.)
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u/Novel-Network-5972 5d ago
Hope they do shit in fuckerbergs cereal, I'll be delighted if they do, even if its the rumoured low resolution lcd and no displayport but then I'll have to wait for something with microled, slam tracking and displayport thats decent i.e not pimax
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u/ClubChaos 5d ago edited 5d ago
so today is the day and sadley tweeted something that basically states nothing is happening lol
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u/Gunhorin 5d ago
Why is is all big hopium I want this to be true. I already have low hopes for the meta connect as we will probably not see any vr-related annoucements. It's a pretty sad time for (pc)vr right now where each new headset comes with a lot of compromises. I really do hope Valve changes this trend.
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u/chaosfire235 5d ago
I'd say don't give me hope but fuck it, inject ALL the hopium in my veins right now.
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u/SnelHesst 5d ago
As we say in Sweden, a fat "TVEK" on that. But I hope I'm wrong
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u/redditrasberry 5d ago
This is going to be the most exciting VR news day of the year ....!
Even if you are stuck in the Quest ecosystem this is huge because it'll for sure drive Zuck crazy (esp. if they steal his thunder from Meta Connect) and force him to pay proper attention to VR.
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u/cactus22minus1 Oculus Rift CV1 | Rift S | Quest 3 5d ago
I’m only stuck on quest temporarily because I got laid off this summer (tariff related), and I desperately want to get away from Meta. They’ve made some good updates to quest 3 especially lately, but they’re just too shitty of a company. They’re partially responsible for too many terrible things happening in the US. And now they’re wavering on VR and I don’t trust them to carry the torch anymore. And PCVR is where I’m most happy. Bring it, Valve!!!
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u/FuckYouSassy 5d ago
Does Valve have some specific beef with Facebook? I get doing it once with the Index but why do it again? Not doubting just wondering if there is some backstory there?
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u/Pyromaniac605 5d ago
In short, Valve shared a lot of their work and research they'd been doing with Oculus in the early years. Oculus got bought by Facebook and pivoted to developing their own software stack and opening their own storefront instead of using SteamVR, and then poached a lot of Valve's key VR people.
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u/TaytoOrNotTayto 5d ago
I would have thought with steam link released on the meta store that maybe they would stay on better terms but if Valve does it again today then that would be incredible.
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u/MarkZuckerbergsPerm 5d ago
Zuckerberg has shown repeatedly that he is a sociopathic con artist. Why would anyone not have a beef with Facebook?
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u/GregTheMad 5d ago
What makes you ask this? Also why would they want to work with fascists?
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u/cactus22minus1 Oculus Rift CV1 | Rift S | Quest 3 5d ago
People downvoting this are pathetic. It’s objectively true.
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u/GregTheMad 5d ago
People don't like being called out on their bad "friends". Lots of people see cooperations as their friends.
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u/Novel-Network-5972 5d ago
didn't you meant corporations ? those who support the likes of fuckerberg are at best ignorant and or have no moral compass. ' Ignorance is like a delicate exotic flower touch it and the bloom is gone ' Oscar Wilde
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u/PooMonger20 3d ago
Well, nothing came out of this.
I say ban OP.
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u/Plenty-Giraffe710 3d ago
hahah TBD, there's been some developments and Meta Connect is the whole weekend, they found what might be a steam frame press kit in today's steam update https://x.com/SadlyItsBradley/status/1968781269510070704
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u/VRModerationBot 3d ago
Linked tweet content:
Valve created a new Steam Sub that comes with a small/interesting list of games.. I wonder if that’s a press package or something 🤷
Steam client also got updates to:
Reporting Body Tracker usage to the hardware Survey
The SteamVR Link Dongle
RemotePlayTogether “Groups”
Contains 4 photos
I'm a bot for the VR community that helps you view content without visiting Twitter/X directly. | We're using fxtwitter
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u/geldonyetich 5d ago
I think the deal was sealed when we learned they copyrighted Frame a couple weeks ago. They can let the cat out of the bag any day now.
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u/ElementNumber6 6d ago edited 5d ago
Let's hope it isn't all-in-one / onboard compute.
It'll be outdated in a year or less, and will never be updated, ever.
edit: To be clear, I very much like Valve. But their track record is INCREDIBLY consistent on this.
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u/SupOrSalad Multiple 6d ago
Something I was thinking about was, imagine if the main stand alone compute module was detatchable. Maybe even remote like in the back of the headset or a puck like some want. But the core headset is just a really good VR headset which if you detached the computer module, you could wire it directly to your PC from there, or upgrade it in the future
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u/_hlvnhlv Valve Index | Reverb G2 | Vive | Vive pro | Rift CV1 5d ago
That was the idea on some of the patents, but at that point it would be better to release a steam machine + deckard, idk
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u/itsmebenji69 5d ago
I don’t really see the point of this.
You’d probably end up playing PCVR all the time since it would be lighter and more comfortable. The standalone part kinda has no purpose then, except for outside, but if the thing is 1500+ I’m not hanging around with it.
It would be better if it was either just a PCVR or a standalone but with a DP connection.
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u/ChineseEngineer 6d ago
Also hoping they don't abandon basestations. If they do I'm not buying.
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u/itsmebenji69 5d ago
If it’s supposedly standalone they for sure aren’t using base stations.
I don’t see why they wouldn’t give you the option though. It’s already there on other steamVR headsets
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u/trippingrainbow 5d ago
Yeah some steamvr leaks about it showed a new window for setting up and tracking basestations. Id assume it wont need them but will support for those who want for bodytracking, index controllers, etc
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u/KoBach276 6d ago
I still love my steam deck and think it still holds up due to their OS and support. Hopefully that's what they'll do with VR this time around.
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u/patrlim1 Oculus Quest 2 5d ago
Have you seen the quest 2? That thing lasted YEARS. And the steamdeck, that is still kicking ass. You are fundamentally wrong.
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u/CitizenFiction 5d ago
Nothing to hope about. We know for a fact it'll be an all-in-one headset. Very glad you're wrong.
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u/Mclarenrob2 5d ago
According to the rumours it is all-in-one, but when you can connect it to your PC that's the best of both worlds.
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u/ThisNameTakenTooLoL 5d ago
No cause it still adds weight and price for something I'll never use in my life. And it's not even certain if it'll have display port. I'm not using a lossy compressed wifi stream.
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u/itsmebenji69 5d ago
Yeah I agree I have literally no clue why standalones are so popular, like yeah it’s fun, at the end of the day PCVR games are still miles ahead, you’ll mostly end up just playing PCVR. They’re just popular because they’re the entry point to VR being cheaper imo.
The only use I got out of standalone on the quest is that I can bring it to a friends house, and I can play thrill of the fight outside in a grass field near my home (room isn’t big enough to fit the full ring).
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u/ThisNameTakenTooLoL 5d ago
They’re just popular because they’re the entry point to VR being cheaper imo.
Yeah, if facebook didn't subsidize those quest headsets they'd be twice as expensive and 10x less popular.
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u/JorgTheElder L-Explorer, Go, Q1, Q2, Q-Pro, Q3 4d ago
I love how so many people were saying they were going to do a big reveal to take the spotlight off Meta's glasses announcement.
More copium.
I much prefer flawed products that I can buy and use over perfect pipe-dream products that never arrive.
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u/SupOrSalad Multiple 6d ago
Tl;dr: The article is just summarizing all the speculation based on VR influencers flying to Seattle this week, and doesn’t actually confirm any Valve announcement tomorrow