Valve Steam Frame backorder queue stretches to 2027

New Steam Frame pre-orders will arrive in 2027

Valve launched its Steam Frame VR headset last month, and despite its high price, it sold out, with the waitlist extending into 2027. Valve has confirmed that those with reservations can now see when their order is expected to ship. These orders will have a “by December” or “2027” timeframe. New orders enter Valve’s “waitlist” and will be fulfilled after Valve fulfils orders from the earlier reservation list.

Valve has noted that each region has separate reservation and wait lists. This means that each region may fulfil its respective reservation orders at different rates and start fulfilling later waitlist orders at different times. Regardless of your region, it looks like Valve will fulfil new Steam Frame waitlist orders in 2027. That means Steam Frame fans may face a long wait if they didn’t order their headsets early.

If you have a reservation

You can now check on your expected order window by going directly to the Steam Frame product page while logged in to your Steam account. Once there, you’ll see confirmation that you’ll receive your order email either by December, or in 2027. Those in the 2027 camp will receive further (more detailed) information on their expected order timing by January. 

For everyone receiving a purchase email: You must complete your purchase within 72 hours or we will move to the next person in line. 

If you are on the waitlist

As we work our way through the reservation queues, we will let you know if spots open up there. Anyone interested in purchasing Steam Frame can still join the waitlist, and will be placed at the end in the order they join.

Please note that there are separate queues for each region, so there could be some regions pulling from the waitlist sooner than others. Importantly, no one on the waitlist is leapfrogging over anyone currently holding a reservation; we’re only dipping into waitlists in a region when we reach the end of its reservation queue.

Alongside order timing data, Valve has released CAD and electrical interface files for its Steam Frame VR headset. These files are available on Valve’s GitLab account and let Steam Frame users modify their headsets. This data is available for non-commercial use. Those who want to create retail accessories for Valve’s VR headset should contact Valve about an official partnership.

Valve’s Steam Frame is a good product, but its current pricing hurts it. The AI market has consumed much of the world’s supply of electronics materials and components. This is especially true for DRAM memory and NAND storage. This reality has made Valve’s hardware more expensive and harder to produce. If the memory market were “normal”, the Steam Frame would be more readily available and much less expensive. As we have said many times before, gamers don’t hate AI enough.

Join the discussion on Valve Steam Frame backorders reaching into 2027 on the OC3D Forums.