Fans Theorize About Steam Frame — A Console, a VR Device, or Half-Life 3?

Valve has filed a trademark application for Steam Frame, which mentions “video game consoles” and related accessories, including controllers. This immediately fueled speculation that the company might be developing a new home console — or even preparing for the long-awaited Half-Life 3.

As reported by GameDev DOU, Reddit user rowletooo discovered the filing in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database. The phrasing of the documents led fans to believe that Valve could be working on a living-room gaming device, potentially to rival PlayStation and Xbox.

Interest intensified after Geekbench test results appeared, showing a Valve device powered by an AMD Hawk Point APU, a Radeon RX 7600 GPU, and running SteamOS. Such a setup fits the profile of a traditional console — standardized hardware, proprietary system, and smooth performance.

Fans also brought up the rumored project Half-Life: HLX, which might serve as a flagship exclusive for the new platform. Another theory suggests that Steam Frame could instead refer to a next-generation VR headset, as the word Frame works both in the sense of “headset frame” and “frames per second.”

Still, a trademark filing doesn’t guarantee an actual release. Valve already had a failed attempt with Steam Machines back in 2015, but the success of the Steam Deck makes a renewed push into the console market seem much more plausible.

For players, this could mean a new and convenient way to access the Steam library, and for the gaming market — a fresh competitor among the big three console makers, especially if Valve launches the device with a strong lineup of exclusive games and a competitive price.