Yes, Steam Frame has eye tracking. Valve’s spec sheet lists two interior cameras “for eye tracking and foveated streaming,” and the headset uses them to send the sharpest detail to wherever you are looking.
Valve says that happens without you noticing in streamed games, with no work needed from game developers. Below we cover what eye tracking does on Steam Frame, the difference between foveated streaming and foveated rendering, the settings that control it, which games use it, and where VRChat and face tracking stand. It all comes from Valve’s Steam Frame product page, its support guide, its developer documentation and its update notes, checked November 8, 2026.
What Valve Lists
| Detail | What Valve says |
|---|---|
| Hardware | “2x interior cameras for eye tracking and foveated streaming” |
| Where it is used | “primarily used during VR gameplay (local or streaming)” |
| Main headset setting | VR Settings > General > Eye Tracking |
| One-eye option | VR Settings > General > Track Dominant Eye Only |
| Calibration | Valve’s support guide lists no manual step, and its notes refer to “self-calibration” |
| For developers | The XR_EXT_eye_gaze_interaction OpenXR extension, plus OpenVR eye tracking functions |
Valve’s support guide sums up the purpose in one line: “Eye tracking is used primarily for foveated rendering, a feature that improves overall performance by concentrating the most rendering power in the specific area you’re focusing.”
Foveated Streaming vs Foveated Rendering
These two features get mixed up all the time, and Valve explained the difference in its Steam Hardware FAQ:
| Feature | What it does | Does the game need support? |
|---|---|---|
| Foveated Streaming | “the PC only streams high resolution data in the portion of the viewport the player is looking at” | No. Valve says “it applies to all games, and requires no game developer work” |
| Foveated Rendering | “the game only renders high resolution data in the portion of the viewport that the player is looking at” | Yes, the game has to implement it |
Valve says the two stack: “If a game implements foveated rendering, the benefits of that feature will stack with foveated streaming.”
Foveated Streaming is the headline feature. Valve says it “typically offers over a 10x improvement in image quality and effective bandwidth,” using low-latency eye tracking data to steer the best pixels to where you are looking. It helps the picture over the wireless link rather than lightening the load on your PC’s graphics card, which is what foveated rendering is for. Our guide to the best streaming settings covers the rest of that link.
Games That Use Eye Tracking
Foveated Streaming covers everything you stream. Foveated rendering depends on each game, and Valve’s pages carry no list of games that use it. Developers’ own notes confirm these two:
- Half-Life: Alyx. Valve’s September 14 update “added foveated rendering support when running standalone on Steam Frame.” Its October 26 update added a setting for the PC version under Advanced Performance, and says “Enable eye-tracking on your headset for best results.”
- SUPERHOT VR. A September 29 patch “added support for eye-tracked foveated rendering on Steam Frame standalone build – enabled by default.”
Every Steam Frame includes a copy of Half-Life: Alyx, so it is the easy one to try. Our guide to redeeming Half-Life: Alyx has the steps, and our list of the best Steam Frame games has more to play.
The Eye Tracking Settings
On the headset. The instructions Valve links from that October 26 Half-Life: Alyx update say to make sure eye tracking is on under VR Settings > General > Eye Tracking.
Sharing with PC apps. The same instructions say to turn on Settings > Steam Link > Share eye tracking data to other apps on this PC if a program on your PC needs the data. Valve’s SteamVR 2.19.1 beta notes add a prompt for this: “When connecting an eye-tracking headset, SteamVR now asks whether to share eye tracking data with PC applications.”
In Half-Life: Alyx on PC. Those instructions put the setting under Options > Performance: select the gear icon to open Advanced Performance, and the Foveated Rendering toggle is at the top. It is off by default, and it needs a supported graphics card.
One eye only. Valve’s SteamOS 0.4 notes added an accessibility option “for users who want to limit eye tracking to a single eye” at VR Settings > General > Track Dominant Eye Only. It requires enabling “show advanced settings.” You pick the eye under Dominant Eye in VR Settings, which also controls spectator view and screenshots. Our guide to the best settings to change first covers those too.
Turning it off. You can, and Valve’s SteamOS 0.5.7 beta notes soften the cost: “Foveated sharpening is now independent from Eye Tracking (previously would disable when off, now defaults to centered).” On that beta, the sharp area stays in the middle of your view with tracking off, instead of switching off. Beta features need you to opt in under Settings > System > System Update Channel.
Does Eye Tracking Need Calibrating?
Valve’s support guide lists no manual calibration step for eye tracking. Its SteamOS 0.5.8 beta notes refer to “Improved eye tracking self-calibration,” and the SteamVR 2.19.1 beta notes list “Improved eye-tracked foveation alignment during rapid head movement.”
If the sharp area ever seems to sit in the wrong place, Valve has not published a dedicated fix, so start with its general steps: install updates under Steam Settings > System > Updates, update SteamVR on your PC if you stream, and restart the headset. Its support guide also warns against “coverings or modifications that could obscure built-in sensors or cameras.”
Valve’s pages do not say how glasses or inserts affect eye tracking. Our guides to wearing glasses with Steam Frame and prescription lenses cover what it has said about fit.
VRChat, Face Tracking and Other Apps
VRChat. Valve does not name VRChat in its Steam Frame notes. What it does say, in its SteamVR 2.18 notes, is: “Expose eye openness information when streaming from Steam Frame, via OSC.” That requires SteamOS 0.4.3 or higher, and Valve adds that eye openness “will also be available in an upcoming OpenVR SDK release.” On its side, VRChat’s OSC eye tracking documentation accepts gaze and an eyes-closed value, but calls the feature “NOT plug-and-play” and does not name Steam Frame. So treat it as unconfirmed until one of them names the other, and expect some tinkering if you try it.
Face tracking. Valve’s spec sheet lists no face tracking for Steam Frame. Its interior cameras are listed for eye tracking and foveated streaming, and eye openness is the closest thing it exposes.
Developers. Valve’s developer documentation says “Our current support for eye tracking uses the XR_EXT_eye_gaze_interaction OpenXR extension,” and OpenVR has its own eye tracking functions, so a game can read your gaze if its developer builds that in.
Privacy. Valve’s Steam Frame pages do not say where eye tracking data goes beyond the sharing options above, and the English text of Steam’s Privacy Policy did not mention eye tracking when we read it on November 8, 2026. The setting to watch is the PC sharing option, since that is the one that passes the data to other programs.
Eye Tracking Compared With Quest 3
Eye tracking is one of the hardware differences between Steam Frame and Meta’s cheaper headset. Our Steam Frame vs Quest 3 comparison sets it next to price, lenses and passthrough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Steam Frame have eye tracking? Yes. Valve’s spec sheet lists two interior cameras for eye tracking and foveated streaming.
Can you turn off eye tracking on Steam Frame? Yes. The setting is at VR Settings > General > Eye Tracking. Valve’s SteamOS 0.5.7 beta keeps foveated sharpening on, centered, when tracking is off.
Do games need to support eye tracking? Not for Foveated Streaming, which Valve says “applies to all games.” Foveated rendering does need the game to implement it, as Half-Life: Alyx and SUPERHOT VR have.
Does eye tracking work in standalone games? Yes, where the game supports it. Valve says eye tracking is primarily used during VR gameplay, “local or streaming,” and both Half-Life: Alyx and SUPERHOT VR use it for foveated rendering when running standalone.
Do you have to calibrate Steam Frame’s eye tracking? Valve’s support guide lists no manual calibration step, and its update notes refer to “self-calibration.”
Does Steam Frame have face tracking? Valve’s spec sheet does not list it. The closest thing Valve documents is eye openness data sent over OSC when streaming.
Does Steam Frame’s eye tracking work with VRChat? Valve has not named VRChat. It sends eye openness over OSC when streaming, and VRChat accepts eye data over OSC, but VRChat calls that feature “NOT plug-and-play” and does not name Steam Frame.