Valve officially turned 30 years old on August 24, 2026, marking three decades since Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington founded the company in 1996. As of this writing, Valve has not revealed a price or release date for its upcoming Steam Frame VR headset, according to PC Guide.
Here’s the context: Valve’s first three decades include a series of major PC gaming releases and the growth of Steam. Half-Life arrived in 1998 and helped push PC shooters toward more cinematic storytelling, scripted events, and immersive worlds. Valve later followed it with franchises including Portal, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, Dota, and Counter-Strike; the latter three spawned from fan-made game mods.
Steam, launched in 2003, developed from a relatively simple game-distribution service into a major PC gaming platform. Its features include automatic updates, cloud saves, achievements, communities, and the Steam Workshop. Steam has also become the software foundation for Valve’s hardware plans.
Valve has spent recent years expanding beyond software. The original Steam Machine experiment in 2015 did not last, but the company later found greater success with the Steam Deck. Valve has since expanded its hardware plans with a new Steam Machine and the upcoming Steam Frame VR headset.
The unanswered question on Valve’s anniversary is when Steam Frame will arrive. Valve has confirmed that the headset is planned for summer 2026, but it has not provided a specific release date or price. Fans had anticipated a possible update on the company’s milestone day after months of indications that the launch was getting closer.
Those indications include Valve’s continued expansion of the Great on Frame section on Steam, which lists compatible games. The headset has also received FCC certification, and Valve has been receiving VR shipments as it prepares for launch.
For now, Steam Frame’s price and release timing remain unconfirmed. Valve’s 30th anniversary highlights the company’s history across games, Steam, and hardware, while leaving the next details of its VR headset launch still to be announced.
Valve’s broader history spans from the release of Half-Life to the development of Steam and its more recent hardware efforts. Three decades after its founding, the company continues to build on the Steam platform through devices including Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame.
