November 12, 2025
Three drops, zero chill
Valve Announces New Steam Machine, Steam Controller and Steam Frame
Fans mourn the old controller while VR dreams and a living-room box split the crowd
TLDR: Valve unveiled a new Steam Controller, Linux-based living-room console, and wireless Steam Frame VR, coming early 2026. Comments swing between mourning the original controller, geeking over 2160×2160-per-eye specs, and dreaming of coding in parks, while dupe-linkers debate and pricing stays unknown.
Valve just pulled a triple hardware stunt and the comments went full popcorn mode. A new Steam Controller, a living-room Steam Machine console, and the wireless Steam Frame VR headset are set for early 2026, but the crowd is already fighting. The loudest take: “RIP Steam Controller,” as pxc calls the new pad a “headless Steam Deck” and insists the old one was the only decent shooter controller. The dupe police showed up first, linking split threads for Steam Frame and Steam Machine, while phoronixrly just dropped the source and walked away.
Specs talk sparked hype and side-eyes. The Steam Machine runs Linux (Valve’s SteamOS) and packs an AMD desktop-style chip, which means it doubles as a regular PC. The Steam Frame headset is light, wireless, Snapdragon-powered, and one commenter flexed the number we all wanted: “2160×2160 in each eye.” Coding nerds even dreamed of ditching monitors to hack in the park, courtesy of cadamsdotcom’s fantasy. Pricing and exact dates are radio silent until the new year, so the meme energy is simmering: controller mourners vs. living-room believers vs. VR park coders. Drama level: high, patience level: low. Everyone’s waiting on price tags and real tests to calm nerves.
Key Points
- •Valve announced three new Steam hardware devices: Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame.
- •Steam Machine runs SteamOS and uses a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 SoC with RDNA3 graphics, 16GB RAM, and 8GB GDDR6 vRAM.
- •Steam Machine is positioned as a Linux-powered living room console that can also function as a conventional Linux PC.
- •Steam Frame is a lightweight, wireless VR headset powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (ARM64) with 16GB LPDDR5x RAM, running SteamOS.
- •All three devices target an early 2026 release; exact launch timing and pricing will be shared in the new year.