Steam Frame trademarked by Valve, filings point to mysterious new hardware

Valve has filed a mysterious new trademark for something called 'Steam Frame,' and it may be the company's next hardware innovation.

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Valve could be preparing for a big showcase of its next-generation hardware, perhaps even some sort of console-and-VR amalgamation combo. The company has applied to trademark the term Steam Frame on the USPTO, and the filings themselves give some clues on what the hardware could be. There is speculation that Steam Frame could be a next-generation platform, complete with Valve's next-gen VR headset alongside a new iteration of the failed Steam Machines PC-console concept.

Then again, if Steam Frame is Valve's next-gen Deckard headset, it won't include console hardware; Deckard is said to be a standalone VR headset coming in late 2025. Given the timing, it's possible that the trademarks are for the Deckard VR headset.

There are actually two trademark filings with the same name but in different categories: one trademark is for "computer game consoles for recreational game playing; video game consoles; video game accessories, namely, controllers for video games," and the other trademark is for "computer hardware; computer networking hardware; computer peripherals; computer hardware and computer software for the reproduction, processing, and streaming of audio, video, data, text, and multimedia content."

Valve is also preparing the next-gen Steam Deck, and AMD is working closely with Microsoft to make handheld-friendly chips with AI innovations. Maybe the new Steam Deck also fits into the Steam Frame somehow? Then again, Valve has also said that it is holding off on making a Steam Deck successor until it can find some huge performance gains.

The trademarks are currently waiting to be examined by the USPTO.