Valve Announces PC-Console Hybrid Steam Machine Along With Steam Controller And Steam Frame VR Headset

Hyderabad: Valve, an American video game developer, has announced three new Steam hardware products. These include the Steam Controller, the Steam Machine, and the Steam Frame. The Steam Controller, as the name suggests, is a new gaming controller; the Steam Machine is a compact gaming personal computer (PC); and the Steam Frame is a wireless virtual reality (VR) headset that comes with controllers.

All this hardware is built to work seamlessly with Steam and to run Valve’s operating system, SteamOS, which is optimised for gaming. They are designed to provide a plug-and-play user experience, bridging the gap between PC and consoles by allowing users to access their PC game libraries anytime and anywhere.

Valve has announced that the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and the Steam Frame will be shipped in early 2026.

Steam Machine

The Steam Machine is claimed to be six times more powerful than a Steam Deck. It is designed to play the whole Steam library, including AAA titles. The compact gaming PC is powered by a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C/12T processor, paired with a semi-custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs GPU, which allows 4K, 60fps gaming support for FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) frame generation. The Steam Machine can be used as a full-fledged PC, and it even allows users to install another OS on the device.

Steam Machine (Image Credit: Valve)

Available in 512GB and 2TB storage sizes, both feature expandable storage via microSD. The Steam Machine sports 2x2 Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and comes with a DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two USB Type-A 2.0 high-speed ports, one USB-Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port.

The compact PC features an LED strip with 17 individually addressable RGB LEDs for system status and customisability. Weighing around 2.6 kg, it is 152mm long, 162.4mm wide, and 156mm high.

Steam Controller

The Steam Controller is compatible with PC, laptop, Steam Deck, Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and more. It comes with magnetic thumbsticks using TMR technology, which is designed to enhance the feel, responsiveness, and long-term reliability of the controller. The Steam Controller features a grip-enabled gyro, called Grip Sense, located at the back of the handle, which allows gamers to enable and disable gyro aiming while intense gaming. It can be assigned to perform a certain action while playing games, just like other buttons on the controller.

Steam Controller (Image Credit: Valve)

The controller boasts two trackpads on the sides, enabling users to play their favourite mouse and keyboard fast-paced FPS games with precision and customisability. It features four customisable grip buttons at the back and a dedicated Steam button on the front, which acts as both a power button and the “quickest way” to explore the library, store, game controls, settings, and more. The controller has a Quick Access Menu button, which provides easy access to notifications, friends list, Steam Chat, and more.

Steam Frame

The Steam Frame supports both VR and non-VR games. It features a 2160 x 2160 LCD display with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. It comes with two controllers featuring a full 6-DOF tracking and IMU support, A, B, X, and Y buttons, a D-pad (on left controller), and haptic motors (in each controller). These controllers claim to have 40 hours of battery life.

Steam Frame (Image Credit: Valve)

The headset has four outward-facing monochrome cameras for controller and headset tracking and two interior cameras for eye-tracking and foveated streaming. It is powered by a 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset with ARM64 GPU, paired with 16GB RAM and 256GB/1TB storage options, expandable via microSD memory card. It packs a 21.6Wh lithium-ion rechargeable battery. The Frame sports a USB Type-C 2.0 port for charging and data transfer. It features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity.