Another week, another hint that the Steam Frame might be close to launch, though this time the hint comes not from leaks and rumours but directly from Valve. According to recent official update notes, SteamOS Beta and Preview channels are to receive "preliminary support for the Steam Frame Wireless Adapter."
The Steam Frame is Valve's upcoming standalone VR headset, and based on what we've seen of it—my colleague Jacob Ridley having tried it last year at Valve HQ—it's definitely worth looking out for if you've a penchant for VR. Though the global memory shortage is of course a looming threat for the LPDDR5-laden device.
We'd previously seen a bunch of things that indicate an approaching launch date. Valve itself had previously indicated a launch of summer 2026, and over the past couple of months we've seen signs of Steam Frame imports, a 'Great on Frame' Steam classification, and the public availability of Frame-relevant software on Steam.
All this has had prospective Frame owners chomping at the proverbial bit for a bite of the upcoming VR headset. So much so that the Steam Frame subreddit recently seemed to lose its collective mind in anticipation, even sharing hopeful potatoes of luck (yes, you read that right).
Despite this hopeful anticipation, initial responses to the new SteamOS update note were somewhat pessimistic, given support for the Frame's wireless adapter is only just now being added—"preliminary" support, at that—and not even in the main SteamOS branch but the beta one.
However, one Redditor points out that the change in question simply adds "support for the dongle to wake Steam Machines from sleep", not support for the adapter in general. The implication being that such general support was already there.
Debates, of course, ensue. Primarily over whether Valve is waiting perhaps for an updated Half-Life Alyx (with foveated rendering) to be finished before the Frame launches.
Wherever you stand on the topic—whether you think the lucky potatoes have worked their magic or not—the Frame is no doubt that little bit closer to being ready for launch (or at least a more bug-free and feature-full launch) than it was before. Your guess is as good as mine for when that will actually be, though.
