Steam embraces mobile in a strange way with the new Steam Frame VR headset
It's a frame up
- Steam is embracing mobile in a new way with the Steam Frame
- It'll run Android VR apps natively, without the use of Proton
- In essence, it's an indication Valve is embracing mobile
I think it's safe to say the past couple of days have been pretty big for Steam. What with the announcement of the new Steam Machine and a host of peripherals? But what may have slid under the radar is also the news that Steam is finally embracing mobile! Well, sort of.
The Steam Frame was one of the snazzy new devices unveiled by Steam. At its core, a wireless VR headset. And while Steam isn't short in its VR catalogue, it seems that the folks at Valve are also courting Android developers and encouraging them to bring their titles to Steam.
It's all a bit technical and a bit beyond even me. But in essence, it seems that because the Steam Frame uses a different kind of system, it can easily run Android apps natively rather than having to run them through Steam's Proton compatibility layer.
Gimme' Steam
This isn't a major change, but as many have already observed, it's certainly a step towards mobile rather than away from it. And given that Steam is already putting themselves out there and challenging the dominance of consoles with what is essentially a miniature PC boasting a good amount of power for its size, mobile seems like the next step.And I'm sure for developers that make use of Steam, there'll be some element of excitement for what this means about bringing non-VR content to Steam. Does that mean we're about to see another third-party storefront pop up at the same level as the Epic Games Store for mobile? Well, maybe we'll have to see how it all pans out.
In the meantime, if you're looking for other stuff to play and other ways to spend your weekend, why not dig into our list of the top five best mobile games to play this week?
