Valve may be about to drop its Steam Frame VR headset during Meta Connect

The Steam Frame reveal may be coming sooner than we thought, with signs pointing toward a reveal taking place during Meta Connect. VR content creators are believed to be heading to Seattle, and a few are being far from subtle with their hints in social media posts.

Following the most recent Steam Hardware Survey, I posited that now was the right time for a new Valve VR headset, in large part to attempt to offset the domination of Meta headsets, which now account for over 63% of total VR users on Steam. The Valve Index no longer sits on our guide to the best VR headset, as its price and performance have been challenged by the likes of the Meta Quest 3. If this new mystery VR headset from Valve is to compete with Meta's latest headsets, it's going to need to pair incredible performance with an irresistible price, but first, we need confirmation that it actually exists.

The belief that Valve may be dropping a reveal of the Steam Frame comes from creators such as Nathie, a VR YouTuber covering all things VR, AR, and XR, who remembers the shock reveal of the Valve Index very well, as they were live-streaming when it happened. Nathie recently posted that to X (formerly Twitter), "Greetings from Seattle" alongside an image of themselves with the Space Needle. Their X page suggests they are attending Meta Connect, but this is taking place in California. In a different post, they explain that they are not attending the event, but hope to potentially be in the area for networking.

A few other creators are passing on, or haven't been invited to Meta Connect, including YouTubers Cas and Chary XR, who, in response to a post that makes a not-so-subtle nod to the Steam Frame, posted a GIF of Tom Hardy winking. Cas and Chary have covered the Valve Index extensively on YouTube and even covered rumors of the new Valve VR headset earlier this year, so it would make sense that they could be on the hypothetical invite list, as they were reportedly not invited to Meta Connect for the first time since Covid restrictions were lifted.

While this is all to be treated with a touch of skepticism, it's worth remembering that Valve has a history when it comes to upstaging competitors with VR reveals. The OG Valve Index was revealed at the same time as the Facebook F8 conference in 2019, where it announced the Oculus Quest and Rift S headsets. If Valve wants to stick to this strategy, revealing the Steam Frame during Meta Connect would be very on-brand.

Again, this is all rumors and whispers for now, so take everything with a giant grain of salt, but we'll be keeping a close eye on Valve's social channels come Wednesday evening to see if anything stirs.

If you have a PCVR headset and are looking for something to play, you can check out our guide to the best VR games to find our recommendations.

Would you be interested in another Valve VR headset, such as the Index, or would you rather own a standalone headset, such as the Quest? Let us know over on our community Discord channel.