Will the Steam Frame Launch at $1,500?

It is no secret that the upcoming Steam Frame will not be cheap. But $1,500 is not the number that VR enthusiasts want to hear.

During a livestream that has since been deleted, Valve insider Tyler McVicker revised his own Steam Frame forecast upward. His earlier estimate placed the base model at approximately $1,100. He now describes that figure as too conservative and points instead toward a launch price closer to $1,500.

The case for a higher price

McVicker attributes the increase to component inflation. The Steam Frame runs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and Qualcomm has a double-digit price increase scheduled to take effect on September 1, which would land almost exactly as Valve finalizes its retail pricing.

Valve has been caught by this before. The Steam Machine shipped on June 30 at $1,049, reportedly around $300 above the company’s own internal target, after memory and component costs outran its projections. A price this high will surely generate backlash. Meta Quest 3 costs $599 and a $1,500 Steam Frame would sit at nearly three times the price.

McVicker also claims that Valve has spent several months building a standalone, natively running version of Half-Life: Alyx for the Frame.

What to make of it

Expect a difficult launch. The Steam Machine sold through a randomized reservation lottery, and the Frame will follow the same pattern with limited initial stock.

McVicker has a strong track record, so perhaps he is on to something. For now this remains an informed guess rather than a leak. If it proves accurate, however, it would mean Valve is targeting exclusively the enthusiast tier. The reservation queue will be the first place to find out how many people are willing to follow.