78
Well... there goes all my expectations to leave META VR ecosystem, so long steam frame
I still can't say it wouldn't be worth it at $1.5k for people that really wanted to get into VR... but unfortunately my price limit is $750 US for me to consider a launch day order, and obviously that ain't happening. With component prices being what they are, it's not realistic for me to expect any lower anymore.
But the best I can hope for is a memory crash and DRAM makers come scrambling back to fill the sinkhole void from the collapsing circular financing cycle. Today that's just a pipe dream.
No one other than meta seems interested in making an affordable midrange headset. I get that they want to push the tech but it's out of the budget for so many gamers that might otherwise be interested in vr.
I'm sure the frame is going to be amazing but I would be happier if I could get something for $500-700, even if it was equivalent to the the decade old HTC vive or similar headset.
I wouldn't say the Quest is cheaper, you just pay a recurring non-cash cost. It's a price I'm not willing to pay. I'm also not able to pay the expected cost for the Frame right away, but I hope there are enough early adopters to keep the manufacturing line going long enough for me to be able to afford one.
On one hand, the Valve Index launched for $1000 in 2019. Adjusted for inflation, that is $1306.25. And you needed a powerful PC to be able to use it, where this can be used standalone. Only effectively costing an extra $194 for standalone processing is pretty impressive.
On the other hand, it is difficult to justify this price considering cheaper headsets on the market, like a $600 Meta Quest 3. Unless you dislike Facebook that strongly (justified).
I'd happily pay more to not use a Meta product.
I won't use a Meta product under any circumstance, but I'm not going to pay an unlimited amount of money, either. If the alternative can't get reasonably close to Meta's reasonable prices, that just means I will continue to never get VR at all.
If there was a way to hack Meta Quest I might buy one. Finding a hack probably would have been a better use of Valve's resources.
But I wouldn't pay more not to use it, I would just not pay at all. At $1500 I'll just keep not enjoying VR.
I’ve been desperate to get into VR (both as a player and a developer) but being tethered wasn’t for me - it was the biggest gripe I had visiting VR experiences etc. And I dislike Meta on a philosophical and moral level.
So yeah, $1500 for “not Meta” is fine by me.
Unpopular take here, but I think it's a realistic expectation. I bought the valve index several years ago, and that cost me a grand. I would expect next Gen stuff to be even more expensive, even in the best of times. Add all the tech hardware fuckery of the last couple years to the mix and, well, I wouldn't have expected any lower price.
Does it suck? Yeah. Was the price expected? Also yeah.
As a non stand alone piece of hardware I didn’t see the value. With this new system i am not shocked it’s more expensive than the Steam machine. It’s basically its own game system. I’d argue more so than a machine or deck ..
It's not really next gen tho. The hardware is comparable to Quest 3.
What if I told you there's more to a VR headset than the hardware?
It's using snapdragon 8 gen 3 which is more powerful than the xr gen 2 by 25%
And it's not owned by meta and many games that you already own will play on it without a PC, and it can be linked to your PC, unlike the $3500 Apple Vision Quest or whatever the hell it was called.
I’ll still buy it.
This is a complete nothingburger article that's just repeating Tyler McVicker's speculation. I like McVicker, but to act like his guess is insight from a "Valve insider" is dogshit-tier journalism.
Again, 500-700 yeah sure. 1.5k? Absolutely not.
I would never have put money on it being less than $1k.
Even the index was expensive and that was in a more affordable time period.
I thought it would even out to about 800 dollars before the component crisis.
At one point, Valve had stated that they were shooting for a price under the Index, so that would have been below $1k.
I said this before when they first announced it, but my boss bought the Apple Vision Plus or whatever the hell it was called, and I got to use it, and it was actually a really great experience. Only it's tied to an Apple ecosystem.
I said then that if Valve could bring in their version and it's 60% as good as the Apple headset for under $1,800 then it would be worth it.
My only real concern is dealing with scalpers, and I'm probably not going to be an early adopter, but who knows if I get a Christmas bonus this year or accidentally stumble into a couple extra grand, I might just go ahead and pull the trigger on it.
I skipped the Steam Machine, so I think I’m going to get the Frame unless it’s like $2k.
The market is what the market is, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to get better anytime soon
Sucks Valve got back into the hardware right when Chat and Claude ate it all
It will sell out
I know people who would pay a full 60 dollars for a game on Steam they could get for free on the Epic Store. I’ve seen people do it out of spite the very week a game was free on Epic. I would not be shocked to see this sell out.
Steam is kind of a cult ..
Don’t think valve will mind if you decide it is too expensive, don’t worry
Fuck me for wanting gaming hardware to be affordable, I guess.
You are not entitled to everything in this world
Price aside, do we think it's better than other options?
Based on past history of various VR HMD makers, for at least Linux users, I'd bet yes.
But...that's assuming that the user is going to get an HMD in the first place. Like, one "option" is to just not use an HMD, just use a traditional monitor and forego VR-only titles.
Looks like I'm never getting into VR for the same reason I didn't years back. Price continues to be expensive, and only cheap options are meta which is a big no.
So probably 1200 or 1300 on launch - people will think they are getting a deal.
Fuck man. I really want to get into VR gaming, but that’s a ridiculous barrier to entry. The Quest 3 is reasonable, but I’m afraid I’ll buy it, love it, and want more.
The Quest would be fine if it weren't for Meta. I have a Quest 2, but I stopped using it over privacy concerns.
It worked great wired to my PC for PCVR. The wireless was pretty spotty.
Now that I think about it, would I have to make a Facebook account to use it? Cause that’s a hard fuckin no from me.
Nope just a meta account. If that's better or worse idk.
Seens like the same thing to me since whatever meta calls themselves its meta as a corporation that creeps me out.
Yeah. They have you attached a camera to your head that actively maps everything around you in color 3d and sends it to Facebook servers. Anytime I used it I'd take pretty much everything else out of the room. I think if I use it again I may use a deceased relative's account to really fuck with their data.
I wish it were possible to just flash something else on it like you can on smartphones, and get rid of all the meta stuff on it.
I got a Quest 3 and it completely satiated my VR needs. And in some respects it has advantages over the Frame, such as color passthrough
this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2026
78 points (100.0% liked)
PC Master Race
21963 readers
888 users here now
A community for PC Master Race.
Rules:
- No bigotry: Including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
- Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
- No NSFW content.
- No Ads / Spamming.
- Be thoughtful and helpful: especially when new beginners have questions.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS