Reported by 2 outlets
The story so far
AI summary of the reporting below · Updated · How we work
A Valve engineer acted rapidly to grant an unusual user request by adding external optical drive support to the Steam Frame. On October 18, a player posted on the Steam Community forums expressing frustration that the VR headset could not read a detached CD-ROM drive to play older disc-based games like 2006's Need for Speed: Carbon or watch movies. Developer Gabe Rowe responded to the thread the following day and, just eight minutes later, pushed a code commit enabling CD-ROM functionality in the headset's operating system repository. [1][2]
The change involves enabling pre-existing optical disc features within the custom Linux kernel used by the device's ARM-based software. While technical users can build and install the modified kernel manually, standard Steam Frame owners will still have to wait for Valve to test the patch, package it into a system image, and push it through a public software update. The original poster also observed power delivery limits when connecting external drives directly to the headset. [1][2]
The rapid software tweak earned broad praise across gaming forums and Reddit as another demonstration of Valve's direct, receptive relationship with its customer base. Although the Steam Frame is aimed primarily at streaming, optical drive support provides niche utility for standalone users wanting direct disc access on the go. [1][2]
A CD drive for the Steam Frame? That's probably not something most people would be interested in. But one user asked for exactly that in the Steam Community forums – and Valve responded within a day.
via Notebookcheck
Valve practically just flipped a switch to give gamers the ability to read optical drives directly from the Steam Frame.
via Tom’s Hardware