Valve is once again betting on hardware with a trio that seeks to unite living room, desktop and virtual reality under the same umbrella: Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam ControllerThe company anticipates its arrival in early 2026, with direct sales on Steam and close integration with SteamOS.
After learning from the first batch of Steam Machines, the field has matured thanks to SteamOS y Protonwho have demonstrated on Steam Deck that Linux can be a solid option for gaming. Now, the offering expands on three fronts: a mini living room PC, a standalone VR headset, and a redesigned controller with ultra-low latency.
An ecosystem with pieces that fit together
The idea is simple: each device fulfills a role, but they all understand each other. Steam Machine It is designed for the living room TV; Steam Frame It allows native or streaming gameplay in VR and on a virtual screen; and the new Steam Controller Complete the experience with versatile and precise control.
Steam Machine: a living room mini PC with 4K ambitions
Valve will manufacture the new Steam Machine directly; it adopts a cubic and silent design intended for TV cabinets. In terms of performance, the brand claims... up to 6 times the power of a Steam Deckwith the aim of achieving 4K is 60 fps using rescaling techniques such as FSR.
Inside we find a AMD Zen 4 6-core/12-thread CPU (up to 4,8 GHz, 30 W TDP) and a AMD RDNA 3 GPU with 28 CUs (up to 2,45 GHz, 110 W TDP) with 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory. It is accompanied by 16GB DDR5 RAM and NVMe 2230 storage in two options: 512 GB or 2 TB.
The box is around 156 × 152 × 162 mm and weighs about 2,6 kg, includes internal source and a thermal design with a 14cm fan to keep temperatures and noise down. It also incorporates a customizable LED bar for system states.
In connectivity it offers DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 (with CEC), Gigabit Ethernet, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, two front USB-A USB 3 and two rear USB-A USB 2 ports, plus dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with dedicated antennaIt features an integrated 2,4 GHz radio for the new Steam Controller.
It works with Steam OS 3 (suspend/resume, cloud saves and the entire Steam ecosystem) and will allow installation Windows if the user wishes. Games can also be moved between devices with a microSD cardmaking it easy to take your living room library to your viewer or laptop.
Valve has not confirmed a price, but it is expected to be similar to other current home consoles in the European market, with Official sale on Steam for Spain and the EU.
Steam Controller: Magnetic precision, advanced haptics, and 8 ms response time
The controller returns with a more familiar design, but retains Valve's distinctive touch. It incorporates TMR magnetic sticks To minimize wear and drift, two trackpads with haptic feedback, D-pad, analog triggers and four rear buttons assignable.
The promised latency is around 8 ms thanks to a specific dongle, the Steam Controller Puckwhich also serves as a magnetic charging base. It can also be played by Bluetooth or USBand the integrated battery aims for more than 35h of use
The gyroscope is combined with a grip-activated technology (GripSense) to aim precisely without taking your thumbs off the sticks or trackpads. And, as expected, it takes advantage of Steam Input to access community profiles and customize each game in detail.
The controller is sold separately and will come in bundles with the Steam Machine. It is compatible with PC with Windows/Mac/LinuxSteam Deck, mobile devices via Steam Link and, of course, with Steam Frame, where it can also be displayed in virtual space.
Steam Frame: Standalone VR headset with SteamOS on ARM
The third part of the ad is a viewer that doesn't need a PC to work. Steam Frame It runs games natively thanks to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (ARM64) and 16 GB of LPDDR5, with 256 GB or 1 TB of UFS storage and a slot for microSD.
The helmet integrates two LCD screens 2160 × 2160 by eye, lenses Pancake and a frequency of 72 to 120 Hz, with an experimental mode of 144 Hz. It weighs 435 gramsIt distributes the weight with a 21,6 Wh rear battery and adds speakers and microphones.
For tracking, mount four outdoor cameras and two interiors for eye trackingWith that foundation, Valve is launching the Foveated Streaming, which prioritizes the detail where you look and reduces bandwidth when streaming from a PC.
The streaming connection uses a dedicated wireless link in the 6 GHz band using an included adapter, avoiding overloading the home network. It can also be used as a "flat screen" in a virtual room to comfortably play non-VR games.
Steam Frame is also the first SteamOS device to debut in ARM architectureValve will combine Proton and Project FEX to enhance compatibility, and will launch the label Frame Verified with which it will identify games optimized for the headset.
The viewer comes with the Frame Controllers, controllers divided into two pieces with TMR sticks, capacitive finger tracking, haptics and powered by one AA battery per controller with Up to 40 hoursThe traditional Steam Controller can also be used if preferred.
For those who develop accessories, the device incorporates PCIe 4.0 expansion slots geared towards high-speed cameras or modules, opening the door to advanced uses beyond gaming.
Cross-compatibility and focus on Europe
Valve wants everything to work together: you'll be able to Install games on microSD from Steam Deck and take them directly to Steam Machine or Steam Frame, and stream between computers depending on where you are.
The family will be sold exclusively through Steamwith shipping to Spain and the rest of Europe, multilingual support, and the usual payment options in euros. The company will expand its verification programs to Steam Machine and Steam Frame to clarify which games run best on each device.
What remains to be finalized
Valve has not yet made a statement. final pricesHowever, it suggests that Steam Machine will be priced similarly to current consoles. In the case of Steam Frame, the company aims for a cost that is... lower than that of Index for the complete kit, but some details are missing.
Regarding content, the company has not announced new VR games of our own alongside the headset (there is no confirmed standalone version of Half-Life: Alyx), and the final performance will depend on the optimization and the progress of the compatibility program for ARM.
Valve envisions a coherent ecosystem that covers couch, desktop, and VR with SteamOS as a nexus: a mini PC that aims for 4K/60, a standalone viewer with foveated transmission at 6 GHz and a low-latency controller with magnetic sticks, all planned for early 2026 in Spain and Europe.
