Steam Frame Release Date: Launched September 14, 2026, and Every Signal That Called It
Last updated: October 20, 2026
Part of our Steam Frame hub. See also the price tracker, the Great on Frame verified games list, the full spec sheet, a guide to what games run on it, and the full VR release dates tracker.
The Valve Steam Frame launched on September 14, 2026. Valve's Steam Hardware post, headlined "Steam Frame is here!", went up at 10:01 AM Pacific and opened reservation signups on the spot. Signups closed Thursday, September 17 at 10:00 AM Pacific, everyone got a reservation or waitlist email that day, and purchase emails have gone out in waves since Friday, September 18. On October 9 Valve told reservation holders their order email will come by December or in 2027; the waitlist has no date. Pricing starts at $1,059. The launch kept Valve's summer 2026 promise with eight days of summer to spare.
It did not arrive in the week this page had pointed to. Two of the headset's Steam backend packages were revised on September 3, and because Steam Machine packages had moved six days before its own lottery, we read that as the week of September 7. The actual gap was 11 days. The rest of the trail held up: FCC authorization on July 29, 35 tons of hardware through US customs in June, leaked setup videos on August 19, and a Great on Frame shelf that reached 121 titles by September 8. Our reservation guide walks through signing up, and the launch report covers what Valve announced.
256GB kit $1,059, 1TB kit $1,299, each with controllers, the wireless adapter and Half-Life: Alyx. The 45W power supply is sold separately for $29.
Image: Valve
Steam Frame key dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Mon, Sep 14, 2026 | Launch announcement; reservation signups open |
| Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 10:00 AM PT | Signups closed; one-time randomization of each list |
| Thu, Sep 17, 2026 | Reservation or waitlist result emails go out |
| Fri, Sep 18, 2026 | First purchase emails; 72 hours to check out each |
| After Sep 17, 2026 | Late signups join the back of the waitlist |
| Fri, Oct 9, 2026 | Valve posts order windows on the product page for reservation holders |
| By Dec 2026, or in 2027 | Order email window shown to each reservation holder |
| By Jan 2027 | More detailed order timing for the 2027 group |
Valve's official Steam Frame reservation schedule, from the September 14, 2026 announcement, the Steam Frame FAQ and Valve's October 9 update. Times are Pacific.
The signal timeline
| Date | Signal | Our read |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | Steam Frame announced, targeting early 2026 | Original window |
| Feb 4, 2026 | Valve says memory and storage shortages force it to revisit the shipping schedule and pricing; first-half goal held | First slip, in writing |
| Apr 2026 | KOMODO, Valve's distributor in Asia, lists the Frame on its store, without a price | Storefront staged |
| Jun 18, 2026 | FCC embargo lifts on controllers and Enthusiast Kit | Hardware is final |
| Jun 2026 | About 35 tons of VR hardware clears US customs | Inventory is stateside |
| Jun 25, 2026 | Steam Machine reservation draw runs, three weeks after Valve's June 4 Steamworks post said both devices ship this summer | Window locked |
| Jun 30, 2026 | Steam Machine shipping begins after the first purchase emails on June 29, clearing Valve's launch runway | Frame is next in line |
| Jul 13, 2026 | Great on Frame store section goes live with five titles | Merchandising begins |
| Jul 14, 2026 | Verified list grows to eight titles in a single day | Shelves being stocked |
| Jul 18, 2026 | Major SteamVR dashboard overhaul ships to beta users | The software is dressing for launch |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Qualcomm notifies customers of double-digit Snapdragon price rises for orders shipping after September 1 | A reason not to slip past August |
| Jul 29, 2026 | FCC grants equipment authorization for FCC ID 2AES4-1015, filed May 13 | Legally sellable in the US |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Published Steam Frame Verified floor confirmed at 72 fps, down from the 90 announced at GDC | Bar lowered to fill the shelf |
| Aug 6, 2026 | Half-Life 2: VR Mod certified, the first marquee name on the list | A reason to buy one |
| Aug 10, 2026 | Great on Frame reports 65 titles, up from eight on July 17 | Catalog reaching launch scale |
| Aug 19, 2026 | Valve's unboxing and first-time-setup videos leak from the Steam client | Retail packaging is finished |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Great on Frame at 89 titles, four weeks of summer remaining | Shelves filling, clock running |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Great on Frame reaches 98 titles, with Beat Saber and Job Simulator certified | Marquee names arriving |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Brad Lynch tells the Gamertag VR podcast review units are out and shipping starts mid September | Reviewers have hardware |
| Sep 3, 2026 | Two of the Frame's seven Steam packages revised, the first change since May 5; Steam Machine packages moved six days before its lottery | The six-day clock starts |
| Sep 4, 2026 | Lynch reports a reservation system live in Steam's backend for two SKUs | The checkout exists |
| Sep 6, 2026 | Great on Frame at 117 titles, 16 days of summer left | Week of September 7 is the working assumption |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Great on Frame at 121 titles, 14 days of summer left | Shelf mostly stocked, the promised week is here |
| Sep 14, 2026 | Valve posts "Steam Frame is here!" and opens reservation signups at $1,059 and $1,299 | Launched, eight days before summer ends |
| Sep 17, 2026 | Signups close at 10 AM Pacific, each list is shuffled once, and reservation or waitlist emails go out; SteamOS 0.3.0, the first update, ships the same day | The draw is done |
| Sep 18, 2026 | First purchase emails go out to the reservation queue, 72 hours to check out each | Sales begin |
| Sep 19, 2026 | Reservations are on eBay at $1,750 and up; Valve's terms void any that change hands | Demand outruns the first allocation |
| Sep 23, 2026 | iFixit publishes its teardown of a retail unit | Hardware is in outside hands |
| Sep 30, 2026 | Waitlisted buyers report emails moving them into the reservation queue; Valve announces nothing | The waitlist is moving, pace unknown |
| Oct 1, 2026 | SteamOS 0.4.3 beta lists battery gains of up to 12 percent and further Error 17 streaming fixes | Launch-month patching continues |
| Oct 6, 2026 | Valve's September hardware survey shows a Steam Frame row at 0.41 percent of VR headsets on Steam, about 1 in 244, 13 days after purchase emails began | First public usage number |
| Oct 8, 2026 | SteamOS 0.4 reaches every Frame with battery gains of up to 12 percent and Error 17 fixes; the PC side still needs the SteamVR 2.18.2 beta | Launch-month fixes go stable |
| Oct 9, 2026 | Valve dates the queue: reservation holders see an order email window of by December or in 2027, and waitlists move only after a region's reservation queue is finished | Some reservations run into 2027 |
| Oct 13, 2026 | Valve ends Valve Index production and puts the remaining stock 20 percent off | The Frame is now the only headset Valve makes |
Every Steam Frame release date signal in order, from the November 2025 announcement through launch day and the first weeks of sales, and what each one told us.
Why the launch was never months away
Three kinds of evidence stacked up before Valve said a word. The regulatory kind: the FCC embargo on the Frame's motion controllers lifted June 18, and companies do not finalize FCC paperwork for hardware they plan to keep revising. The physical kind: roughly 32,000 kg of hardware labeled Virtual Reality Devices cleared customs into Valve's US warehouses in June. You do not pay to warehouse inventory you are not about to sell. And the retail kind: Valve stood up a customer-facing Great on Frame shopping section in mid July and stocked it with eight certified titles within two days. Valve merchandises products it is about to sell.
The sequencing logic points the same way. Valve tends to clear one launch before starting the next, and Valve began shipping the Steam Machine at the end of June. The Frame was the last piece of Valve's 2026 hardware wave waiting for a date, and it got one on September 14.
How launch day actually works
There is no traditional preorder page. Valve reused the randomized reservation system it built for the Steam Machine, saying it helped improve the purchase experience and limit resellers, and the $99 Steam Controller selling out in under an hour shows what first-come first-served would have looked like. This time the window ran three days instead of opening with no warning, and Valve said outright that there was no incentive to be first: every signup made before September 17 at 10:00 AM Pacific landed in the same shuffle. Its FAQ adds that the longer window gives it time to confirm signups are real accounts, one per household.
The eligibility bar is the part most likely to catch someone out. Your Steam account must be in good standing and must have made a purchase before April 27, 2026, so a fresh account opened for launch week does not qualify. You pick the 256GB or 1TB model at signup and cannot change it after the shuffle. Lists are separate per model and per shipping region (North America, the UK and EU, and Australia), which is why Valve warns that a waitlisted buyer in another region may get a purchase email before you do. Once your email arrives, you have 72 hours to check out. Price details, including the $29 power supply that is not in the box, are on our Steam Frame price page.
256GB kit $1,059, 1TB kit $1,299, each with controllers, the wireless adapter and Half-Life: Alyx. The 45W power supply is sold separately for $29.
Image: Valve
Frequently asked questions
When did the Steam Frame come out?
Valve launched the Steam Frame on September 14, 2026, with a Steam Hardware post titled "Steam Frame is here!" that opened reservation signups the same morning. Signups closed Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM Pacific. Valve then ran a one-time randomization and emailed every signup that day with a reservation or waitlist result, and purchase emails have gone out in waves since September 18. Units ship as they become available, in randomized queue order. On October 9 Valve said reservation holders will get their order email by December or in 2027. It has published no timeline for the waitlist, though around September 30 some waitlisted buyers reported emails moving them into the reservation queue. The launch kept the promise Valve made on June 4, that the Frame was shipping this summer, with eight days to spare before summer ends on September 22.
How do I reserve a Steam Frame?
The first reservation window ran from September 14 to September 17 at 10:00 AM Pacific, and Valve shuffled each list once. Signups needed a Steam account in good standing that made a purchase before April 27, 2026, one per household, checked against payment method and shipping address. Anyone who signs up after the shuffle goes to the back of the waitlist for the 256GB Kit ($1,059) or the 1TB Kit ($1,299). If you are in the reservation queue, Valve emails a purchase link when your unit is ready, with 72 hours to check out.
What happens after the September 17 randomization?
Every signup was emailed on September 17 with one of two results: the reservation queue or the waitlist. A reservation means a unit of the model you chose is held in your name; when it is ready to ship, Valve emails you a purchase link and you have 72 hours to complete checkout before the reservation passes to the next person. Waitlisted buyers move up if reservations are cancelled, and future production runs are offered in waitlist order. Lists are separate for each model and for each shipping region, and you cannot switch models after the shuffle.
Was the Steam Frame delayed?
Yes, softly. The November 2025 announcement targeted early 2026. On February 4, 2026 Valve said memory and storage shortages meant it had to revisit its shipping schedule and pricing, while holding to a goal of the first half of the year. Summer 2026 was the window that stuck: a June 4 Steamworks post said the Steam Machine and Steam Frame were both shipping this summer, and the Frame launched on September 14.
Where can you buy the Steam Frame?
Valve ships the Steam Frame directly through Steam in the U.S., Canada, the UK, the EU, and Australia, with separate reservation lists for North America, the UK and EU, and Australia. In Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong it is sold through KOMODO, Valve's authorized distributor, which publishes its own pricing. South Korea is coming at a later date.
What does the Steam Frame launch with?
No first-party launch game, but every kit includes a copy of Half-Life: Alyx, redeemed in the headset's settings (one copy per device, and not if you already own it). Valve counts over 100 games as Steam Frame Standalone Verified at launch, and the rest of your Steam library streams from a PC over the included Wi-Fi 6E wireless adapter.
How much does the Steam Frame cost at launch?
$1,059 for the 256GB Kit and $1,299 for the 1TB Kit in the US, VAT included where applicable in other regions. A power supply is not included; Valve sells a 45W unit for $29. Our Steam Frame price page lists every regional price and accessory.