Qualcomm price hike adds another problem for Valve’s Steam Frame launch
© Valve Valve postponed the Steam Machine and Steam Frame launches after memory and storage shortages made it difficult to finalize prices. The company waited for component costs to stabilize, but there is still no clear return to the lower prices available when the hardware was designed.
Now Valve has another component increase to consider. Qualcomm reportedly informed customers that prices for its products will rise by a double-digit percentage. The new prices will apply to chips shipped after September 1, 2026. Qualcomm said it had exhausted its ability to absorb higher supplier costs.
Steam Frame relies on Qualcomm hardware
The Steam Frame uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. The standalone headset also includes 16GB of LPDDR5X unified memory and either 256GB or 1TB of UFS storage. All three components have faced tighter supply or rising costs during the current hardware shortage.
Qualcomm’s increase does not confirm that Valve will change the Steam Frame retail price. Valve may have already secured part of its chip supply under earlier contracts. However, any units produced with processors shipped after September 1 may carry a higher bill of materials.
“The rise will go into effect for products shipped after Sept. 1”
Literally every AR/VR Device uses Qualcomm. Except for one that already got price-hiked
On top of memory and storage pricing problems, Virtually no way for headsets to avoid further price increases https://t.co/cfla84KTr0
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) July 25, 2026
Valve delayed hardware pricing as costs increased
Valve originally planned to provide Steam Machine and Steam Frame pricing earlier in 2026. It later postponed those details and the launch schedule because memory and storage prices were changing too quickly. In March, Valve said all three announced hardware products would still ship during 2026.
© Valve The delay gave Valve more time to settle its hardware plans, but it also exposed the products to further increases. Steam Machine pricing is already tied closely to DDR5 memory and SSD costs. Steam Frame now faces the same memory pressure alongside a more expensive Qualcomm processor.
Valve has not announced the final Steam Frame price or confirmed whether the Qualcomm increase will affect buyers. But since they never announced pricing, well there is no official price hike.
Source: Reuters , Brad Lynch
