t’s certainly been a journey for Valve. A week prior to the Steam Frame’s launch, we spoke with two engineers at Valve about the project: Joy Lyons, hardware engineer, and Jeremy Selan, software engineer. The memory crisis and the price were a big part of that conversation. From that chat, we can confirm that Valve had aimed for a lower price point than the one it’s launching the Frame for today.
Here’s Lyons on the memory crisis:
“We set out to design this hardware with one particular price in mind, but we’ve made choices to make sure that we’re making a product that is choiceful, that people can purchase, they can upgrade with different features later. But we wanted to make sure we had a base product with really great performance. Then that price target shifted due to the ongoing RAM crisis around the world.”
Lyons also said that forecasting for the cost of certain components used in the Steam Frame is an ongoing challenge.
Not exactly boding well of the Steam Deck 2.
I know that they had to release it, after all the R&D, but the way they did is just bad. Having to pay for the charger separately. Having to pay the comfort pack separately. Receiving only 1 game, which is a 6 year old game that cost £13, currently. Having no color pass-through, without paying extra. Why would anybody go out and buy this, if they haven’t bought already a VR headset. Yes privacy is nice, but there are others that also do it and cheaper (especially second hand). Especially knowing this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiadamborsky/2026/05/05/inside-leviathan-why-gabe-newells-new-yacht-is-a-total-game-changer/
No one likes the current market conditions, but if they included all the things you are asking for it would have started at $1300 and everyone would be even more upset.
Agreed with the current market, obligatory fuck AI and fuck Trump, but there is a small, small point about the charger. That would not have broken any bank to have included that along with the controller straps. Even the Index came with controller straps.
I with you on the straps, but personally I’m glad that I’m not forced to buy a power adapter I don’t need.
Agreed. Controller straps are cheap. And I already have 3 Steam Deck charging blocks: one for the OLED, one for the Deck Dock, and another for the LCD. I don’t need a fourth. Presumably the Frame is compatible with those already, and the extra-long cable from the OLED block is long enough for seated VR to work while plugged in anyway.
Not that I can afford a new VR headset in a year that multi-nozzle 3D printers are becoming widely available at affordable prices, but I digress…