In the long arc of virtual reality's struggle to find its footing in the consumer market, Valve has stepped forward with a deliberate and costly wager: the Steam Frame, a $1,059 headset now open for pre-orders, aimed not at the masses but at the devoted few who believe the frontier is worth the price of admission. The announcement, arriving in September 2026, signals that Valve is no longer content to orbit the VR space through software alone, committing instead to a hardware vision that prizes openness and capability over accessibility. Whether this moment marks the beginning of a mature VR e