Valve is Getting Awfully Close to Steam Frame Release Following ‘Great on Frame’ Store Page

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Valve hasn’t mentioned the price or release date for its long-awaited Steam Frame standalone headset, although we seem to be getting suspiciously close.

As spotted by hardware analyst Brady Lynch, Valve just published a new store landing page for Steam Frame content, which is rounding up all of the ‘best’ games and demos that are certified to work with the company’s soon-to-launch VR headset.

So far, there are only four titles on the ‘Great on Frame’ site:

• Into Black (VR game) – The Binary Mill
• Portal 2 (flatscreen game) – Valve
• Aperture Hand Lab (VR hand interaction demo) – Valve
• The Lab (large format VR demo) – Valve

Courtesy Valve

Of course, there is set to be a much (much) larger subset of games capable of working on Steam Frame, as the standalone headset can not only download, store locally, and play nearly any flatscreen game à la Steam Deck, but many PC VR games that have been optimized to run on its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 (Gen 3) mobile chipset. That comes in addition to being able to wirelessly stream games directly from a VR-ready PC at higher quality.

While we’ve had the opportunity to go hands-on with Steam Frame following its unveiling last November, two of the biggest missing pieces of info are undoubtedly price and release date.

If it’s going to be anything like Steam Machine though, which launched at a not-so-friendly price starting at $1,050 last month, we’re expecting somewhat of an initial sticker shock too. To Valve’s credit, the company has been transparent about the fact that the RAM and storage crisis has jacked up prices across the board, although that doesn’t make what could be a $1,000+ MSRP any easier to swallow.

Looking for more Steam Frame news?

Valve Unveils Steam Frame VR headset to Make Your Entire Steam Library Portable: Valve shows off Steam Frame, the standalone headset that can stream and natively play your entire Steam library—with only a few caveats right now.

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 Plans to Offer Steam Frame Dev Kits to VR Developers: Steam Frame isn’t here yet; Valve says it needs more time with developers first so they can optimize their PC VR games.

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?

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.

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XREAL’s First Budget AR Glasses Go on Sale Internationally, Priced at $300

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AR glasses maker XREAL today announced its ‘X by Xreal’ sub-brand (xbx) is officially bringing its first pair of budget XR glasses outside of China.

Xreal today released its xbx a01+ in the US for $300, available across xreal.com, Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Micro Center. You’ll also find it direct from Xreal and partner retailers across the EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

First launched in China in May, Xbx a01+ packs in a fairly smart slate of specs for its price, offering 50° field-of-view, HDR10 support, real-time SDR-to-HDR conversion, 120Hz refresh rate, and bird bath-style optics delivering up to 1,600 nits of brightness from its Sony micro-OLED displays.

At 62g, Xbx a01+ is remarkably light too, although it’s important to note it’s not a standalone device. Like all of Xreal’s other glasses, the company’s latest budget pair are basically meant for consuming traditional content while physically tethered to your standard array of mobile devices, suich as phones, tablets, portable game consoles, and laptops.

Notably, as $300, Xbx a01+ sits well below XREAL’s premium lineup, undercutting the $400 Xreal One, $500 Xreal 1S, and $600 Xreal One Pro. Getting them down in price has also been a balancing act; the glasses don’t feature any sort of camera sensors, electrochromic dimming, and don’t include the usual ‘Sound by Bose’ audio seen in other Xreal devices—all of it making for the company’s cheapest glasses to date.

“Where XREAL’s flagship lines push the frontier of spatial computing, X By XREAL was created to make AR glasses feel more accessible, personal, and fun,” said Chi Xu, co-founder and CEO of XREAL. “With a01+, we’re bringing XREAL’s industry leading display technology, comfort, and optical engineering expertise into a lighter, more affordable product built for entertainment, gaming, and everyday use.”

Xu maintains its first budget glasses mark “an important step toward making big-screen AR something anyone can experience,” noting that it’s primarily built for movie-lovers and gamers.

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Former Oculus CTO John Carmack Puts up $1M for Official VR Ports of Id Software Titles

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John Carmack, former Oculus CTO and co-founder of id Software, announced he’s still willing to put up $1 million of his personal money to help make VR versions of Id’s most famous retro titles—especially now that Microsoft has laid off a bulk of the studio’s employees.

Having left id Software in 2013 to join Oculus as CTO and help kickstart the VR consumer revolution, Carmack is still one of the industry’s most vocal advocates. Even after stepping down as CTO in 2019 and leaving Meta in 2022, he’s continued to push for open platforms and wider adoption of XR.

Last February, Carmack announced he would lend support to VR modding group Team Beef, noting he was lobbying for the team to have the ability to sell “full versions of the classic titles officially on the store.”

“I had some hope, but that was still too small potatoes to make anything happen in a Microsoft company,” Carmack said at the time. Notably, Team Beef has released a number of unofficial VR mods, including much of Id Software’s back catalogue, as well as official VR ports WRATH: Aeon of Ruin VR (2025) and soon-to-release Postal 2 VR (2026).

Now that Microsoft has essentially pared down Id Software though, resulting in what laid-off VFX artist Derek Best calls the size of “support studio”, Carmack is again reiterating the offer, hoping to make officially-sanctioned Id Software VR games a possibility.

“BTW, if the XBOX division is scrounging for loose change under the sofa cushions, I’m still willing to put up a $1M guarantee to allow TeamBeefVR to commercialize the legacy open source games on VR,” Carmack says.

By “legacy open source games,” Carmack is referring to classic Id Software titles whose game engines were released under open source licenses, such as the original DOOM (1993), Quake (1996), and Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001). While the underlying code is freely available, the games’ assets, including levels, textures, audio, and other copyrighted content, are still owned wholly by Microsoft.

Acquired by Microsoft in 2009, Id Software has been relatively insulated from Microsoft’s repeated gaming layoffs, which included Activision Blizzard in 2024, and the closure of several ZeniMax-owned studios like Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, making recent cuts at the legendary developer unfortunate, but not all together surprising.

“My ‘Microsoft will probably be a good steward of the brand’ statement isn’t aging well, and this is certainly going to dampen the mood of the founder reunion at QuakeCon next month,” Carmack says. “I’m saddened, but I can’t muster anger or outrage over it. I don’t have access to the books, but I suspect that Id Software was a marginal business from Microsoft’s perspective. I believe the reports that Minecraft revenues have been carrying several other studios. To continue being produced long term, games need to succeed, not just be beloved.”

Whether Microsoft will actually bite remains to be seen. VR games already make less relative to flatscreen games, which makes it less attractive from a revenue perspective. Still, the company could do a lot more right now to sow good will, as its competitor Sony is taking the brunt of gamer frustration right now with its recent decision to end physical disc production before 2028.

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‘Tomb Raider’ VR Reportedly Cancelled According to Leaked Images & Video

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As reported by MP1st, a sizable leak from Vertigo Games reveals its now-defunct Amsterdam satellite studio was working on an official Tomb Raider VR title before the project was cancelled earlier this year.

Vertigo Games Amsterdam was working on the unannounced Tomb Raider VR game from at least November 2024 until its cancellation in January 2026, MP1st maintains.

At the time, the game (codenamed ‘Project U’) was reportedly being developed over 50 developers, and was slated to target Quest 3, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets.

Now, it appears an internal source has leaked a veritable treasure trove of concept art and images of the now-cancelled VR game, which seem to put Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft in a fully-realized Mesopotamia-inspired desert environment.

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

The leak also includes a 15-minute long gameplay test video compilation, courtesy MP1st, which shows off a number of environments, enemies, and immersive traversal methods:

In the video, you can see Lara using a mix of gear, including her bow and arrow to solve environmental puzzles, dual pistols, and a submachine gun.

An immersive touch: her equipment seems to include a wristband that indicates health and oxygen level, the latter of which would have likely been used during underwater segments.

As mentioned in the initial report, the leak also includes a brief look at a presumable early boss: a giant guardian statue inspired by Babylonian art.

There’s also an array of concept art too, which shows off a variety of enemies, human and supernatural alike:

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Courtesy MP1st

Notably, the images seem to show the game was planning a plot centered around some sort of ‘supernatural infection’, as enemies are seen in various states of affliction, which likely would have paved the way for increasingly difficult versions of the same basic enemy type.

This follows the closure of Vertigo Games Amsterdam in June, previously known for developing Metro Awakening VR (2024). The satellite studio’s shutdown has followed a wider trend across the VR industry and games industry at large.

The reported January cancellation coincides with Meta’s shuttering of a number of internal VR studios, as the company has shifted its Reality Labs XR division to focus on AI and smart glasses.

Among the reportedly cancelled games: Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel from Meta’s Sanzaru Games, an unannounced Harry Potter VR game for Quest from Skydance Games, and a major project from Moss developers Polyarc.

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‘Pistol Whip’ Studio Reportedly Developing “impossible to ignore” Multiplayer VR Game

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Veteran VR studio Cloudhead Games, developer behind hit rhythm shooter Pistol Whip (2019), is ostensibly deep in development of their next title, which according to a recent job listing could be a multiplayer VR game that may also have a flatscreen mode.

The studio’s listing for a new Social & Community Strategist is looking for someone who is “obsessed with multiplayer and co-op games (2D and VR),” and someone who can “spot great player moments, jump on trends, or define your own.”

“We’re looking for someone to help make our next game impossible to ignore,” the listing says.

Although the studio hasn’t publicly confirmed it’s indeed developing a hybrid flatscreen/VR game, it would certainly be a first for the British Columbia-based studio.

Founded in 2012, Cloudhead got its start with the release of single-player VR adventure games The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (2016) and Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone (2017), later releasing arguably its most popular title in 2019, the single-player rhythm VR game Pistol Whip.

The new job posting suggests Cloudhead is looking to make a big splash too, as the studio hopes to campaign across TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, Reddit, Steam, Instagram, and X. The studio says it also wants applicants to lead playtests, announcements, engagement, and work with creators and streamers on all of the above.

Adding essentially a ‘viral marketing’ position to the mix also suggests the studio’s next game is pretty fairly far along. In 2024, Cloudhead announced it was working on two new VR games, although the studio has been mum on the specifics since then.

Whatever the case, the studio appears to be attempting a significant rebound after it was forced to lay off 70% of staff, making for 37 affected employees. And, if the job posting is anything to go by, one of VR’s most senior (and successful) studios may hope a hybrid flatscreen/VR multiplayer could be the ticket.

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Meta Closes Smart Glasses Privacy Loophole With New Camera-Killing Update

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Meta is rolling out an update to its line of smart glasses that will disable the camera if the device’s capture LED has been tampered with or destroyed.

Since the rollout of Meta’s second-gen Ray-Ban Glasses in 2024, physically covering the white capture LED on any of the company’s current smart glasses shuts off the onboard camera, something the company did to curb casual misuse.

Before Meta’s mandatory v26 update—which is rolling out now to all Meta Ray-Ban, Meta Oakley and its new $300 Meta Glasses—some users got around the software check by simply drilling out the capture LED hardware itself. Granted, that was already against Meta’s terms of service, which state:

“You may not tamper with the Glasses or otherwise obscure or modify any of the features on the Glasses that signal to others that the Glasses are recording.”

Meta Glasses | Courtesy Meta

Still, that wasn’t much of a deterrent, since the hardware check failed to notice when the capture LED was physically disabled, and not just covered up by a piece of tape.

Speaking to The Verge, Meta VP of Wearables Alex Himel says the privacy-focused update was meant to follow the release of the company’s cheaper Meta Glasses, which notably lack Ray-Ban or Oakley styling. At the time, Himel told The Verge Meta was aware of increasing misuse amid growing adoption.

Meta doesn’t seem to be outright bricking glasses with drilled-out capture LEDs, however not having the camera severely limits what people can do with them, since they don’t include any sort of display, which ought to be deterrent enough for now.

Lacking a display has essentially forced Meta to invest in use cases beyond the comparatively straight forward expectation of taking photos and video, as the company has released updates that bring camera features such as continuous Live AI capture, which lets Meta AI see what you’re seeing so it can help out with tasks or otherwise identify things directly in your filed-of-view.

And while Meta appears to be distancing itself from one of the least savory consumer segments by putting an end to surreptitious public recording, it’s also seemingly frontrunning increased legislation in a growing number of US states and cities, such as New York state and Philadelphia. Public court houses there have recently banned smart glasses of any type, even those with prescription lenses.

Scrutiny around privacy seems to be coming from all sides though, as a recent Wired report maintains Meta has essentially baked in facial recognition to its smart glasses, which is notably still unreleased at this time.

In March, it was revealed Meta was facing a class action lawsuit in the US over privacy concerns tied to its smart glasses, as the company is accused of sending private camera footage to a Kenya-based subcontractor for manual review to train its AI models.

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HTC’s Revenue Stabilizes as XR Pioneer Pins Hopes on AI, Smart Glasses and Enterprise

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HTC has been attempting a second act as an XR and AI hardware company for a few years now with mixed results. And while the once-dominant smartphone company is still the midst of a protracted revenue decline, HTC seems to have stabilized.

As reported by Taiwan’s Financial Express News, HTC revealed at its annual shareholders meeting a consolidated revenue of NT$292 million (~$10 million) for June 2026, showing a year-over-year decrease of 8.5% and first-half revenue decrease of 9.7% year-over-year.

Although that doesn’t sound particularly encouraging, the decline actually represents a rare degree of stability for the Taiwan-based company, which has battled significant revenue losses since as far back as 2013.

Granted, HTC is now a fraction of its previous size, which was before selling a significant portion of its smartphone engineering team and IP to Google in 2018, and a number of XR hardware talent to Google in 2025.

Still, HTC appears to be settling in at a much lower revenue base, as the company is ostensibly pinning its hopes on AI, smart glasses, its VIVERSE metaverse platform, and its usual smattering of enterprise hardware and services.

VIVE Eagle | Courtesy HTC

Notably, HTC Chairman Cher Wang stated at the company’s recent shareholders’ meeting that AI has become one of the most important trends it’s following, with the company’s first AI-powered smart glasses, the VIVE Eagle, expected to arrive in the US and Europe sometime in Q3 2026.

Wang also highlighted the company’s metaverse platform, VIVERSE, which has transformed into a user-generative platform since last year, having attracted over 1.7 million month active users in May, with more than 32,000 pieces of content and at least 14,000 creators joining.

However, HTC’s main challenge remains converting these user numbers and strategic initiatives into meaningful revenue growth, something the company hasn’t clearly demonstrated since making the pivot from smartphones to XR.

Outside of XR, HTC telecom subsidiary G REIGNS also made progress in industrial applications, as its partners Taiyang Technology and Alaska-based Microcom are working on an end-to-end open radio access network (RAN) solution, which is currently aiming at the US market and remote areas. G REIGNS is also introducing AI, 5G private networks, and edge computing technologies to Taiwan’s deep-sea fishing industry, which launched a smart fish-finding solution to help fisheries improve fish search efficiency and real-time decision-making capabilities.

One area not discussed was HTC’s XR headset strategy, which seems to have stalled somewhat following the 2024 release of its VIVE Focus Vision standalone in September 2024. As the successor to VIVE Focus 3, the $1,150 Focus Vision was primarily aimed at enterprise XR and enthusiasts.

That said, HTC has managed to survive the collapse of its smartphone business while staying afloat in XR amid Meta’s domination of the segment, which is no small feat. Still, its next big test will be to see whether it can efficiently build off these revenue streams in the coming years, and maybe, just maybe reclaim some of its former glory.

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