I posted this in the other thread, but wanna share here too:

Most interesting thing to me is the Frame apparently runs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and is using SteamOS, implying official ARM support for SteamOS, Steam and Proton! Could mean steam and proton coming to android too.

Dang. The new Steam Controller has a D-pad, buttons, thumbsticks, gyros, and trackpads.

And the thumbsticks are TMR (like Hall effect, but nicer).

As long as it's comfortable to reach all that stuff, that's gonna be a new bar for PC game controllers.

EDIT: and grip sensors.

EDIT2: and four haptic feedback motors, two in the trackpads.

Only one company has apparently learned how to print money and not be ghouls.

Sometimes I think about how LOATHED Steam was when it launched. That was probably valid even. Still, it feels worth noting that Valve is maybe THE only company from my childhood that feels like it largely stayed true to its spirit, or whatever.

Did Valve just announce THREE of something?

Been waiting for a competitor to the meta quest. Looks like my patience has paid off. I hope it’s not too pricey/compromised

A brief moment of KDE desktop shown.

2026 will be the year of Linux Desktop!

Valve remains committed to an open PC ecosystem

happy noises

I want them all, but mostly the Frame. Finally decent Linux VR? On a standalone device that can also stream from a PC? On ARM?! It seems too good to be true.

Oh my god, my wallet is in trouble haha

The controller is exactly what I wanted. Take a Steam Deck, cut out the middle, glue the grips back together. Take my money.

When I look at this announcement, the hardware is very exciting, for sure. But it is Valve's dedication to Linux that really has me smiling. I don't see three hardware devices to buy. I see two big proclamations for which the hardware is the message:

1. SteamOS on desktop! It seemed inevitable but it's still great to see.

2. STEAM VR USING LINUX AS ITS TARGET PLATFORM?!?!?

I will grant that it's very possible I buy all three pieces of the hardware, even though I like building my own PCs. I will also grant that Valve's support for linux probably would not be what it is without the enshittification of Microsoft's ecosystem. But in this world I'm gonna go ahead and accept the imperfect good news.

Where's my Steam Phone Gabe ?

Finally! I've been holding out for years waiting on steam to release a new VR set, time to finally get one!

NGL the cube thingy looks so damn attractive to me, especially as I don't own any form of PC gaming...

Now please Steam, officially sell to Mexico god damn it!

I've been saying for years that VR can get off my lawn until I can buy Linux native hardware. I guess I'm interested in VR, now.

"I may never financially recover from this."

is well said.

I need to buy all of these.

This is so fucking good for linux gaming

Hmm this makes me wonder if the Steam Deck 2 will be ARM. If the Steam Frame works well, that could be a way for Valve to push more performance/battery life out of the deck

Lets fucking go! This lineup looks sick.

why is this thing not called Steam Engine?

Really excited for this and hopefully that means steamvr on Linux will actually start working better! The current Beta build is much better but still lots of work to do.

I'm definitely getting the frame as upgrade from quest 3 which I rarely use due to it being attached to Meta. The controller is no brainer considering that old steamdeck controller is still one of the best controllers on the market. Not sure about steam machine mostly because I just built my own PC - would have totally waited for it if I knew it was coming but it looks so slick.

Very excited for Linux in 2026!

If Valve makes ARM Linux work properly as a gaming/desktop OS, I will uhh hmm.

I will buy this thing.

I wonder if they're still using Arch for the basis of this. Its ARM version is kinda not so great, although not terrible either.

I hope the Frame is as cheap or cheaper than a Meta Quest 3. It's almost identical in the specs, but goes back to monochrome external cameras instead of full color. But also has eye tracking which the Q3 does not. I want eye tracking so fucking bad... I set up cameras for it before I was like "Hold up... They can't see my eyes with the headset on 😬" lol

I can’t wait to get the controller

Hell yeah! I have an upgrade path for my original Steam Controllers!

One under the radar feature of the Frame's controllers is being able to use them without the headset as essentially a normal controller split in two.

That controller makes me swoon.