Linus Tech Tips’ secondary channel ShortCircuit appears to have jumped the gun on publishing its first impressions and unboxing of Steam Frame, suggesting we’re truly now right around the corner from launch.
Valve’s first standalone headset is coming very soon, it seems, as the LTT side channel ShortCircuit mistakenly released its unboxing and first impressions video yesterday.
Entitled ‘Our first 30 mins with the steam frame’, the video was quickly made private, although some users had just enough time to grab the video and rehost it across the Internet.
You can see a mirror of the now deleted video below:
In case you can’t stick around for the full 17-minute video, which largely lines up with prior preview coverage, here’s the most important bits:
- The video still doesn’t confirm price or release date of Steam Frame—two of the most important announcements the XR industry has been salivating over for the better part of a year.
- It does confirm is that an Ergonomics Accessories Kit will cost an additional $60, which includes an extra head strap and ‘Knuckles’ style straps for the controllers.
- Controllers are also shown to ship with user-replaceable AA batteries, which are said to offer up to 40-hours of gameplay.
- It also speculates with a measure of confidence that a standalone version of Half-Life: Alyx (2020) is coming, although it doesn’t attribute official Valve information to this claim, but rather a Reddit post sourcing a backend changelog.
Condensing Linus’ physical impressions of Steam Frame: he found it basically in line with Valve Index, although improved due to better on-head weight distribution and imperceptible wireless streaming, which appears to have seamlessly replaced any need for a cable thanks to Steam Frame’s supplied WiFi PC dongle.
He also mentions perks like expandable SD storage and a physical interpupilary distance (IPD) lock so it doesn’t get thrown out of whack during gameplay.
As glowing as the prelaunch hands-on seems, Linus was less enthused by the controllers’ ABXY buttons, Frame’s LCD panels’ color fringing despite being overall very sharp, and the headset’s monochrome passthrough, which he notes includes some obvious stitching lines.
As the video wraps up, Linus says the official LTT channel will be posting a full review, which—provided it doesn’t also break embargo—will surely come amid a host of others.
In terms of severity, it’s actually not a massive leak; certainly no worse than Valve leaking its own setup and unboxing video last month, or its mélange of backend changes that the public has been able to easily decipher, including the revelation that Frame may arrive with a free copy of Half-Life: Alyx.
Whatever the case, the last two bits of info still seem to be under collective lock and key: price and release date, which we’re hoping to learn more about soon.
Looking for more Steam Frame news?
Steam Frame vs. Valve Index Specs: Wireless VR Gameplay That’s Generations Ahead: Valve Index used to be the go-to PC VR headset, but the times have changed.
Hands-on: Steam Frame Reveals Valve’s Modern Vision for VR and Growing Hardware Ambitions: We go hands-on with Valve’s latest and greatest VR headset yet.
Valve Says No New First-party VR Game is in Development: Valve launched Half-Life: Alyx (2020) a few months after releasing Index, but no such luck for first-party content on Steam Frame.
Valve is Open to Bringing SteamOS to Third-party VR Headsets: Steam Frame is the first VR headset to run SteamOS, but it may not be the last.
Valve Announces SteamOS Console and New Steam Controller, Designed with Steam Frame Headset in Mind: Find out why Valve’s new SteamOS-running Console and controller will work seamlessly with Steam Frame.
Steam Frame vs. Quest 3 Specs: Better Streaming, Power & Hackability: Quest 3 can do a lot, but can it go toe-to-toe with Steam Frame?
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