Valve launched Steam Frame early on Tuesday 15 September, Australian time. The 256GB kit is A$1,609 and the 1TB kit is A$1,969. Both come with the headset, two Steam Frame controllers, a Wi-Fi 6E adapter that plugs into your PC, and a copy of Half-Life: Alyx that you redeem in the headset settings. There is no charger in the box. Valve sells a 45W power supply for A$49 as an add-on.

You can't just add it to your cart. Valve is running the same reservation ballot it used for Steam Machine. You sign in on the Steam Frame page, pick one model, and join the list. Australia has its own list. Sign-ups close at 10am Pacific on 17 September, which is 3am AEST on Friday 18 September. Valve then shuffles the list once and emails everyone that day to say whether they have a reservation or a spot on the waitlist. Purchase emails start on 18 September US time, and you get 72 hours to pay once yours arrives. Late sign-ups go to the back of the waitlist.

There are conditions. You need a Steam account in good standing, you must have bought something on Steam before 27 April 2026, and it is one sign-up per household. The power supply, the A$99 ergonomic kit and the A$89 replacement kit can only be added at checkout.

Steam Frame streams your Steam library from a PC over the included adapter, and it can also run games on its own. Inside is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 16GB of RAM running SteamOS. Each eye gets a 2160 x 2160 LCD panel at 72 to 144Hz, with 144Hz marked experimental, and the field of view goes up to 110 degrees. Four outward cameras handle tracking with no base stations, and two inside cameras track your eyes to sharpen the stream where you are looking. The headset weighs 440g with the strap on. Each controller runs on a single AA battery for about 40 hours. Valve says more than 100 games are already verified to run standalone.

Valve has not given an Australian delivery date. Units ship as they become available, starting with the first purchase emails on 18 September. Only one copy of Alyx can be redeemed per headset, and if you already own it you can't claim a second copy.

At A$1,609 before a charger, Steam Frame is a serious purchase, and it suits someone with a capable gaming PC and a Steam library they want to play without cables. The date that matters this week is 3am Friday. Miss it and you are at the back of the queue.