Valve has quietly added a new curated game category to Steam for an unannounced standalone VR headset, with the surprise inclusion of Portal 2 among the first four titles to receive the “Great on Frame” seal. The listing, first spotted by keen-eyed Steam users and later corroborated by online trackers, suggests that the long-rumored, self-contained virtual reality device is moving closer to an official reveal.

What just appeared on Steam

Over the weekend, a previously hidden Steam store category surfaced under the label “Great on Frame.” Four games currently populate the list:

  • Portal 2 – Valve’s 2011 puzzle-platformer, which predates modern room-scale VR
  • Into Black – A subterranean sci-fi adventure built from the ground up for VR
  • Aperture Hand Lab – A short, physics-based demo showcasing finger-tracking interactions
  • The Lab – Valve’s own collection of VR mini-games originally designed for the HTC Vive

The category follows exactly the same naming pattern as “Great on Deck,” the well-known verification program for the Steam Deck handheld. Just as that badge signals that a game runs smoothly on the portable PC, “Great on Frame” points to titles that have been optimized or tested to work seamlessly on Valve’s next piece of hardware – a standalone VR headset that, according to numerous leaks, will run a variant of SteamOS and require no external PC or base stations.

Apart from the list itself, no other details about the headset have appeared on Steam. Valve hasn’t released a logo, product page, or even acknowledged the device publicly. But the existence of a public-facing curation program this close to launch echoes the company’s playbook from two years ago: the “Great on Deck” category went live on Steam on January 27, 2022, exactly one month before the Steam Deck started shipping.

Why Portal 2 matters

Portal 2’s presence is the most telling entry. Unlike the other three titles, it wasn’t designed as a VR experience. While the game includes stereoscopic rendering modes and has long been a target for community VR mods, an official, out-of-the-box VR port has never existed. Its inclusion on the “Great on Frame” list strongly implies that Valve either remastered it for the new headset or developed a comprehensive VR adaptation that will be made available.

This would fit a pattern. When the Steam Deck launched, Valve revisited several of its back-catalogue classics – like Portal 2 itself, Half-Life 2, and Left 4 Dead 2 – to ensure they ran perfectly on the handheld’s Linux-based SteamOS. A similar effort for VR could mean updated controls, reworked UI, and full room-scale support for older gems, potentially unlocking a library of “pancake” games for the new hardware.

What ‘Great on Frame’ means for you

If you’re a VR enthusiast waiting for Valve’s next headset, this list is your first concrete look at the launch lineup. It’s a safe bet that any title earning the badge will run with no tweaking, no performance hiccups, and full compatibility with the device’s controllers and tracking system. For prospective buyers, the category will become a one-click filter to find games that just work.

For home users: This is a signal that the headset isn’t vaporware. Valve is actively testing and curating software, meaning the hardware likely exists in final or near-final form. If you’re on the fence about investing in VR, waiting for an official announcement may give you a fully standalone, PC-free option that plays many of the same games you already own on Steam.

For power users and tinkerers: The “Great on Frame” list hints at the device’s OS. Just as the Steam Deck runs Arch Linux under the hood, the new headset will almost certainly be powered by a custom distribution of SteamOS. That opens the door for sideloading, community patches, and the same kind of open-ended tinkering that made the Deck a darling among enthusiasts. Expect a desktop mode, flat-screen game streaming, and possibly even non-VR application support.

For developers: A “Great on Frame” badge is the new gold standard for VR visibility on Steam. Valve is notoriously selective with its curation, and being featured at launch could mean significant visibility in the early days of the storefront. Smaller studios with already-released VR titles should start testing their games on Steam Deck’s VR branch (if available) or the SteamVR performance toolkit to pre-empt compatibility checks. Valve will likely publish an official set of requirements soon, as they did for “Great on Deck.”

How we got here: The Deckard saga

The road to this moment has been paved with leaks, job listings, and datamined code. For over three years, evidence of a standalone Valve VR headset – codenamed “Deckard” – has been mounting. In 2021, Valve filed a patent for a wireless headset with inside-out tracking. Late 2022, references to a “Deckard” device appeared in SteamVR code, with hints of an integrated x86 processor. Then, in 2023, a South Korean regulatory filing revealed a new Valve “low-power wireless device” with an embedded battery.

Most recently, SteamOS updates showed support for “AMD Lilac” and “Galileo” reference platforms, widely believed to be the headset’s system-on-chip and its external processing unit (for boosting performance in Wi-Fi streaming mode). The discovery of a “Great on Frame” category now ties all those strands together with a public-facing consumer brand.

The naming itself is intriguing. Where “Steam Deck” evoked the form factor of a portable gaming tablet, “Frame” may hint at a lightweight, glasses-like design or simply refer to the bounding region of VR immersion. Valve hasn’t explained the choice, but the consistency with the “Deck” naming scheme suggests the product will be called “Steam Frame” or simply “Frame.”

What to do now

There’s no pre-order page yet, but you can still prepare.

  • Wishlist the games: If you already own any of the four listed titles, you’re set. If not, consider adding them to your Steam wishlist; Valve often rewards early adopters with bundled content or discounts when the hardware launches.
  • Check your library: Look through your VR and non-VR games for titles that have received recent updates. Some developers have been quietly adding “Deckard optimized” notes in patch logs, indicating ongoing testing.
  • Stay updated: Follow the official SteamVR developer group on Steam Community; Valve posts important SDK updates there. Also keep an eye on SteamDB, whose real-time changelogs often reveal new “Great on Frame” additions weeks before they appear publicly.
  • If you’re a developer: Sign up for Valve’s hardware partner program if you haven’t already. That’s how you’ll get early access to development kits and validation checklists.

Outlook: What to watch next

The next milestone will likely be the expansion of the “Great on Frame” list to include more third-party titles. Expect heavy-hitters like Beat Saber, Half-Life: Alyx, and Boneworks to appear shortly after, if not before, an official announcement. Hardware-wise, upcoming tech expos like Gamescom (August) or a dedicated Valve event could serve as the unveiling stage. When the product does launch, it’ll directly compete with Meta’s Quest line but with the advantage of a massive existing Steam library and an open-source OS. For now, Portal 2 sitting under a “Great on Frame” banner is the clearest sign yet that Valve’s next VR chapter is almost here.