Steam Frame VR Headset: The Best VR Gaming Experience Yet?

Ever dropped over a grand on a VR headset only to feel like you're paying for a tech demo? That's the question GameSpot's senior video producer Kurt Indovina set out to answer with the Steam Frame, Valve's new standalone wireless headset. After spending a couple of weeks with it, his verdict is clear: it's the best VR headset he's ever used, and possibly the last one he'll ever own.

"Having used this solid piece of tech for a couple of weeks now, it's been great to replay things like Half-Life: Alyx or booting up Ghost Town, or fiddling around in Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, and Hand Grenades," Indovina explained. For someone who's been an advocate for VR for years—his first GameSpot video was about Five Nights at Freddy's VR—that's high praise. But he also took time to reflect on the broader VR landscape, and his gripes are familiar to anyone who's been following the space.

Indovina has been vocal about how companies have stunted VR's growth. He points to Meta, which put out the most affordable and accessible headset only to commit what he calls "public suicide by investing everything into the metaverse," favoring a dystopian social life and alienating people who just want to play games. It's a frustration many of you probably share.

But look at the Steam Frame in a vacuum, and Indovina says simply: "It rules." He's confident it'll get support for plenty of other cool games, and for pure gaming, it's a great piece of kit. Compared to Valve's own 2019 Valve Index, this standalone wireless headset is a major leap forward. It offers inside-out tracking, improved streaming support, onboard processing, and Android compatibility—all without being tethered to a PC.

Of course, that tech comes at a price. The Steam Frame is one of the pricier models on the market right now, though it's still cheaper than Meta's next foray into VR. Meta recently unveiled its new $1,300 Meta VR Glasses with a flashy trailer that didn't even mention VR gaming. So if you're purely interested in gaming, the Steam Frame is worth considering—if you can get your hands on one, since they've sold out surprisingly fast.

One practical tip: if you wear glasses, double-check your frame before making an expensive purchase. You don't want to drop high-tech VR money on gear you can't even use. But for those who can afford it and want a headset that puts gaming first, the Steam Frame might just be the one. Will you be picking one up, or are you waiting for the price to drop?