Steam Frame, Steam Machine, And The New Steam Controller – Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Them

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Valve, the company behind Steam, recently announced three new devices, signaling exciting developments for the platform. Steam is already a major force in PC and handheld gaming with the Steam Deck, and these new devices could be the first step toward building a comprehensive gaming experience for players.

So, what makes these new devices special? What advantages do they offer over other options? How do they work with your current Steam setup? And most importantly, are they a good value for the money?

We’re diving into Valve’s Steam Frame, Steam Machine, and the updated Steam Controller. Get ready to see what Valve has been working on and find out if these devices are worth the money.

The Steam Frame – Your Steam Library in Virtual Reality

The Steam Deck VR headset is a powerful, self-contained VR system – essentially a complete PC you wear on your head. It’s an exciting new product from Steam, and it directly competes with popular headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2. What makes it special are the innovative features and what those features could mean for the future of VR.

Let’s start with the specs. This device has a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 16GB of RAM, and either 256GB or 1TB of storage that you can expand. Importantly, this is the first time SteamOS – the operating system from the Steam Deck – has been available on a device other than Steam Decks and PCs, and this version includes some new and interesting features we’ll be looking at shortly.

The device features two microphones and wide-angle lenses on the front, built-in speakers on the sides, and a 21.6Wh battery on the back. Its positioning is tracked by four external cameras. Plus, it includes dedicated controllers that perform as well as standard ones. These controllers use TMR thumbsticks, which are designed to minimize stick drift and dead zones, and are more energy-efficient than Hall Effect sticks.

The Frame features responsive finger sensors and realistic vibrations, plus it can run for around 40 hours on a single AA battery. You can even connect it to your Steam Controller if you want. Despite these features, it’s surprisingly lightweight at 435 grams – much lighter than the Meta Quest 3 and PSVR2. This makes it comfortable for extended gaming and adds to its overall flexibility with different software options.

The Frame really shines here. You can enjoy a wide range of VR games from Steam, and it also supports any game in your Steam library that works with a gamepad. Plus, you can easily expand the storage and install games onto a MicroSD card using a computer, Steam Deck, or Steam Machine, then play them directly on the Frame.

Plus, the Frame can stream titles from a more powerful computer using a clever technique called foveated streaming. Essentially, it prioritizes rendering the part of the picture you’re directly looking at in high detail, while preparing the rest in the background. This ensures a great viewing experience by focusing resources where you need them most, and quickly displaying other areas as your gaze shifts.

How does this new headset stack up against the Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR 2? In terms of display quality, it’s the most similar to a traditional PC VR headset, borrowing features from both the PSVR2 and Quest 3. Its resolution of 2160 x 2160 pixels per eye is actually higher than both the PSVR2 (2000 x 2040 per eye, 90/120Hz) and the Quest 3 (2064 x 2208 per eye, 90–120Hz). It also offers an experimental 144Hz refresh rate, in addition to the standard 72-120Hz range.

The headset uses pancake lenses, which allow for a thinner design and clearer image. In contrast, the PSVR2 uses Fresnel lenses, accepting some visual imperfections for better contrast thanks to its OLED screen. Both Steam Deck and PSVR2 have a feature the Quest 3 doesn’t: built-in eye tracking. This uses infrared cameras to focus processing power on where the user is looking, improving performance.

The Quest 3 excels in mixed reality thanks to its high-resolution color cameras. While the Steam Index and PSVR2 offer a basic view of the outside world using black and white, the Quest 3 provides a full-color experience. The Steam Index, however, boasts a more advanced camera setup with four external cameras, plus two that track your eyes, and can even work well in low light. It also has a port for adding even more cameras or other powerful upgrades.

Given its strengths, the Steam Frame is poised to compete strongly with its rivals, and could even become the leader in the market. The Steam Machine might play a key role in achieving that.

The Steam Machine – A Capable, Console-Spec Device

The Steam Machine is significantly more powerful – six times faster, in fact – than the Steam Deck. Valve created it to compete with consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, offering a streamlined design without sacrificing performance. So, how did they achieve this impressive speed? The key is its unique design.

Unlike the bold look of the PlayStation 5, the Steam Machine goes for a more subtle design. It’s a small, six-inch cube that brings PC gaming to your TV, letting you play your Steam games with smooth, 60fps performance and aiming for a sharp 4K resolution. Surprisingly, the machine’s size was determined by how much heat its powerful components generated – the cube shape was chosen to provide the best cooling.

The Steam Machine boasts a surprisingly cool and sleek design, especially considering the powerful hardware inside. It features a custom 6-core Zen 4 CPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and a custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU with 28 Compute Units. You can choose between 512GB or 2TB of internal storage, and a MicroSD card slot lets you easily move games between devices. Valve deserves credit for effectively cooling all of this in a visually appealing package.

Designed for use with a TV, this device offers plenty of connection options, including DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, ethernet, a fast 10Gbps USB-C port, and four standard USB-A ports. It’s incredibly versatile – you can even use it as a full PC, with compatibility for both Windows and SteamOS.

The Machine can also turn on your TV automatically using HDMI-CEC, and it has a sleep/wake feature. Plus, it has a special rest mode that lets you download games or updates even when it appears to be off. A customizable LED light on the front helps you monitor its activity while in rest mode.

This Steam Machine is built more like a traditional PC, prioritizing processing power while having a slightly less powerful graphics card compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It has a memory setup similar to a PC – 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 8GB of dedicated graphics memory. While this is great for doing multiple things at once, the limited total memory might become a problem as games become more demanding. Because of its graphics power, it will likely perform best at 1440p resolution or with slightly lower settings than the PS5 and Xbox Series X, unless it uses advanced upscaling technology to improve the image quality.

Okay, so the CPU is a real beast – a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor that can hit 4.8 GHz. Honestly, it feels way more responsive than the CPUs in the consoles, which are using older Zen 2 chips. Even though the consoles have more cores overall, this new CPU just performs better per core. It’s a noticeable upgrade, especially when things get hectic in-game.

If you see Steam as a way to connect all your games – like a central hub – it’s easy to understand how switching from other platforms can give you access to your entire collection, anywhere you go, and on any device. Plus, you might be interested in the new Steam Controller!

The Steam Controller – A New Touch On An Old Design

Valve is still supporting the original Steam Controller, and they’ve carefully updated it to combine the classic design with what players want today. The new controller looks promising and offers a fresh, distinctive style.

The Steam Controller is unique thanks to its traditional thumbsticks, which are positioned above the original controller’s touchpads. These touchpads are angled slightly inward for more comfortable, extended gameplay. Similar to the Frame Controller, it uses magnetic sensors for the thumbsticks and includes four back buttons – a feature usually reserved for more expensive, ‘Pro’ versions of competing controllers.

The Steam Controller uses two precise motors to deliver realistic vibrations. Valve also designed it with gyro controls in mind, making it great for players who enjoy that feature. The controller’s built-in Grip Sense software automatically detects how you’re holding it and smoothly switches between button and gyro controls, creating a natural and fluid experience.

It’s unclear if the Steam Controller will surpass the DualSense as the best gamepad, but its release is a positive sign for gamers who prefer having a flexible controller alongside their keyboard and mouse.

The included wireless adapter makes charging simple and lets you connect up to four controllers for smooth multiplayer gaming. Plus, with a 35-hour battery life, you can play for a long time on a single charge. And if you’re concerned about losing the adapter, it conveniently clips onto the back of the controller – the designers really covered all the bases!

Compared to the Sony DualSense and Microsoft Xbox Series X|S controllers, the new Steam Controller focuses more on accurate PC input than typical gamepad controls. It uses four advanced vibration motors in its trackpads and grips to provide detailed feedback, surpassing the basic rumble of the Xbox controller and competing with the DualSense’s sophisticated haptics. However, Sony’s adaptive triggers, which change resistance, still give them a unique advantage.

What really sets this controller apart is its advanced grip sensing technology, which allows for precise aiming similar to a mouse and accurately detects your fingers – something most console controllers can’t do. It offers several connection options: a fast, low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless connection (around 4 milliseconds response time), plus standard Bluetooth and a USB-C wired connection. This puts it on par with, or slightly ahead of, the connection options on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox controllers. Plus, the built-in battery is impressive, offering 35+ hours of playtime if the claim holds up in real-world use.

A New Triple Threat?

Valve’s latest move could shake up the gaming hardware market, potentially pushing Sony and Microsoft to innovate as new consoles are on the horizon. The Steam Machine and Frame are powerful devices offering a lot of value, especially for those already invested in the Steam platform.

However, what about other handheld gaming devices? Can they realistically compete with the leading consoles that are already popular? Looking ahead to 2026, what’s the future of Steam and its competitors? And importantly, how much will these devices cost, and how easy will they be to find in stores?

We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but these three new arrivals are guaranteed to make people happy.

Currently, Steam’s new hardware – the Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Controller – is a positive development for the platform. These devices offer great value to current Steam users and are appealing enough to attract players who use other gaming systems.

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2025-11-18 20:16