You get to save your spot in line, following which you wait for new stock to reach your region of purchase. Once it does, an email notification will take you to the order page to finally nab the nifty new Steam Controller for yourself. Beware that you only have 72 hours to complete your order before you lose your spot in the line. And you’re currently limited to one controller per order to ensure it’s available to as large a group as possible.

A few extra details to keep in mind: You need to be “in good standing” on Steam to be eligible to claim a spot, and you need to have purchased from the Store before April 27th, 2026, for whatever reason. Oh, and you can’t get a spot if you’ve already managed to buy a controller from the store. Reservations begin fulfilment next week in Canada and the USA, while other regions like the EU, the United Kingdom and Australia will follow in the coming weeks.

Let’s dive into everything you should know from the latest impressions about Valve’s latest device before picking it up, from the highs to the above average, and whether it’s best suited for you.

Superior to the 2015 Steam Controller

Regardless of everything else, most reviews seemingly agree: This Steam Controller vastly improves on the original in terms of comfort and design language. Part of that is due to feeling more like a traditional controller, and it’s not overtly weighty, as noted by TechRadar. Of course, it scores over the competition when it comes to the sticks.

TMR Sticks

Tunnel Magnetoresistance, or TMR sticks, are probably one of the biggest highlights of the new Steam Control. They’re very responsive and durable, far less susceptible to drift (as noted by The Verge) and also support capacitive touch for motion controls. This isn’t to say they’re completely immune to stick drift, but the technology and its implementation feel much more reliable than, say, the DualSense.

New Dual Trackpads

The other highlight – and probably the signature of the Steam Controller – is the dual trackpads. Instead of replacing the D-Pad and occupying the space meant for the face buttons (while shoving them directly below) as it did for the 2015 version, the trackpads now sit directly beneath the thumbsticks. It’s a more traditional set-up that ensures you get the best of both worlds while also achieving maximum comfort.

Grip Sense

Gyro has become increasingly common in today’s controllers, but the Steam Controller handles it uniquely. Dubbed Grip Sense, it essentially uses capacitive touch to enable gyro functionality. By holding it, you can activate it and vice versa to deactivate it.

Grip Buttons

Then there are the four Grip buttons on the back, which allow remapping just about any action to them. But while easily accessible, TechRadar noted that you might end up accidentally pressing them during more “hectic moments” (which can be adjusted, but we’ll get to that).

Steam Controller Puck

Another ingenious element is the Puck. It primarily serves as a wireless receiver for the controller but also doubles up as a magnetic charging dock, which The Verge noted is very easy to use. Of course, Bluetooth and USB are still available for those who prefer the more traditional methods, and the Steam Machine – whenever it launches – can pair with the controller without requiring the Puck. However, it’s worth noting that Bluetooth offers 37.3 ms of latency, as tested by GamersNexus, so you might want to avoid it.

Excellent Battery Life

In terms of battery life, Valve estimates over 35 hours, and based on various tests, that seems reasonable. GamersNexus notes that with only joysticks, the controller offered 73 hours of life, which dropped down to over 24 hours when using just the rumble. However, as always, it will depend on how you’re using the controller.

Steam Input Customization

What is all this functionality without the freedom to customize it as you choose? Enter the Steam Input Configurator, which allows for just that. Remapping buttons is only the start – as Valve notes in its own official guide, you can create custom layouts (or import them from the community), adjust trackpad and gyro sensitivity, or utilise advanced inputs for the same (including choosing between full and soft pulls for the triggers). Want to assign commands to the outer ring of the joystick? How about setting the joystick to serve as a directional pad? It’s all here and more, complete with extensive Steam UI integration.

Price Point

With everything the Steam Controller has to offer, there has to be a catch or two, right? Well, the biggest thing to get out of the way first is the price. At $99/£85, it’s definitely on the expensive side, ranking above the PS5’s DualSense and the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless. Granted, it’s still more cost-effective than, say, the DualSense Edge, which costs $199, and you’re way less likely to suffer stick drift in the short term.

Good (But Not Great) Buttons

However, it definitely lags behind devices like the DualSense when it comes to the face buttons. PC Gamer notes these to be simple membrane buttons, while the D-pad was considered stiff. It also revealed that, despite Hall effect sensors in the triggers, there really isn’t much more to them (not that we were expecting adaptive triggers or anything).

Not a Pro Controller

It’s also worth noting that you can’t swap out the sticks and trigger stops. Which isn’t something that Valve advertised at all, granted, and this isn’t a Pro controller by any means. But that price point will still have more than a few asking “Why not?” so best set your expectations accordingly.

Not Meant for Consoles

If the name didn’t give it away, this is a controller meant primarily for Steam and not existing consoles in any way. Valve outright said it’s not compatible with them, and though some sites attempted to get it running on PS5, the results were not great.

No Headphone Jack

Then there’s the lack of a headphone jack, but let’s be real – is it all that big of a deal, especially if you’re playing on a desktop? If you’re gaming on the couch with your PC hooked up to a big screen, setting up wireless headphones is a cinch as well. That being said, this is a $99 controller, so just from a pure features standpoint, it’s still worth pointing out.

More Beneficial for Some Players Than Others

Whether it’s the trackpads being good for strategy titles or the gyro functionality working well for shooters like Cyberpunk 2077, the Steam Controller scores high marks across the board in terms of actual usage. And while it should perform great with the average Steam Deck library, this isn’t the case for titles like, say, Fortnite (and one would assume Valorant) that are on different launchers.

In that sense, as noted before, it’s built primarily for Steam. Programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais told Toms Hardware that “We’d rather just make it as easy as possible to get it added to Steam so you can, you know, benefit from that functionality without needing any sort of kernel driver that would potentially, down the line, cause system instability or things like that.” So those seeking something far more universal are better off going with an Xbox, DualSense or 8BitDo controller instead.

The Verdict

Overall, it comes highly recommended for those who game the most on Steam, especially if you’re mostly into couch gaming or Big Picture Mode. It isn’t really essential for those that already have a reliable set-up, which is further reinforced by the price, and not exactly the best if you’re mostly playing through PC Game Pass or just other launchers in general (not to mention for genres like fighting games where a dedicated fight stick reigns supreme). Nevertheless, if you want the best controller available to experience only Steam games and can afford it, the Steam Controller is well worth picking up.

“Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it,” announced the company. “We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon.”

The Steam Controller was released earlier this week, with the only way of buying one being through Steam. The controller has been priced at $99, and even before it ran out of stock, it wasn’t available in all regions across the world yet.

Despite the high price tag when compared to other controllers, the Steam Controller has seen plenty of praise from just about every reviewer, thanks in large part to the quality of its buttons and sticks, extra hardware features like trackpads, additional buttons, and gyro support, as well as the general customizability afforded to it through Steam Input.

Along with a USB-C port, the Steam Controller also comes packaged with a “Puck” that not only acts as its wireless dongle, but also as a charger by magnetically sticking to the back of the controller. Valve has called this Puck one of the defining features of the Steam Controller. Along with this, it is equipped with magnetic thumbsticks that use TMR technology to enhance accuracy and prevent wear, and high-definition rumble motors capable of complex waveforms for vibration patterns.

The twin trackpads and Quick Access Menu button should be familiar to anyone who has used a Steam Deck. While the former makes for a great replacement to analogue sticks for games that don’t support it, the latter allows users easy access to notifications, friends lists, and Steam Chat, among other things. When it comes to compatibility, Valve has said that any piece of hardware running Steam works with it right out of the box, regardless of whether the operating system is Windows, MacOS, or Linux. Tablets and smartphones are also supported.

Despite its name, the latest Steam Controller is actually the second piece of Valve-produced hardware bearing the name. The original was launched in 2015 alongside the company’s first attempts at Linux-based Steam Machines, and rather than going with the traditional twin-stick controller layout, features a pair of circular trackpads—one also acting as its D-pad, while the other is a replacement for the right analogue stick. The design saw a mixed response, and the controller was ultimately discontinued in 2019.

The newer Steam Controller was one of three hardware announcements made by Valve late last year. It was unveiled alongside the Steam Machine—a Linux-based pre-built gaming PC—and a new VR headset dubbed the Steam Frame, which Valve has confirmed runs on Android, and can wirelessly connect to PCs over the 6 GHz band.

That cost may seem fairly high, but early reviews have praised the overall utility, with the trackpads and grip-enabled gyros serving as highlights of the experience. This one packs quite a feature set, and works very well with your Steam devices, while the Puck makes connectivity to your PC a breeze. We’d definitely say it’s worth checking out if you’ve built a massive Steam library over the years, and if the Steam Machine is a part of your plans. Just don’t go expecting a Pro controller experience with replaceable sticks or for it to work with other launchers or consoles.

For now, it appears the Steam Controller is undergoing a phased rollout, so even if it isn’t available in a specific region, you might want to wait. However, early responses to Valve’s announcement have raised concerns about scalpers surfacing again. Either way, it might be worth buying this one from your official Steam page as and when it becomes available.

It's here! Steam Controller has officially arrived. Made for you to play all your games on Steam, however you like to play them.Buy now on @steampowered.com store.steampowered.com/hardware/ste…

— Valve (@valvesoftware.com) 2026-05-04T17:05:04.052Z

The Steam Controller Puck is definitely a highlight, and it’s an effective way to combine wireless functionality and charging in one ultra-portable device. All it needs is a USB connection to your PC, and your new Controller is ready to go. Simplicity and seamless use look like key pillars of the controller’s design, and we’re all for it.

Of course, the new dual touchpads, grip buttons, and customizable gyro sensors are given their due, and we’re honestly impressed by just how much you can do with them. The magnetic thumbsticks are another highlight, and we’re expecting a distinct absence of drift from them, although we might eat our words on that one. Time will tell.

Running out of battery charge on the controller? Simply slot it over the Puck, and you’re all set to charge it up for another extended session of play. It’s all quite convenient, and we’re going to get some serious mileage on this one when it finally arrives on May 4th. Though it retails for $99, the Steam Controller looks like it matches up quite well to the DualSense, although that still has haptic feedback and adaptive triggers in its favors.

Thankfully, Reddit users managed to spot the review before it was taken down, and screenshots can be found online, complete with text revealing the May 4th launch date for the Steam Controller.

Along with text from the review itself, another Reddit user was able to grab all the pictures that were published as part of the review. Along with typical product shots of the Steam Controller, its USB cable, and charging puck that also acts as its wireless receiver, one picture indicates that the controller weighs 292 grams. There are also comparison photos with the back of an Xbox controller, as well as an older photo of the original Steam Controller.

It is worth noting that there is still no indication of when Valve’s pre-built Linux-based gaming PC—the Steam Machine—will be coming out. However, since the company had confirmed in the past that it would be bundled with a Steam Controller, it had likely planned to launch the controller well in advance, if not alongside, the Steam Machine.

As for the pricing, as our report had noted, the $99 price tag of the Steam Controller makes it the most expensive one out there. The DualSense, for comparison, is priced at $74.99. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller gets a bit closer to Valve’s, with its $89.99 price tag.

The Steam Controller, along with the Steam Frame and the Steam Machine, was unveiled back in November. The controller is set to be a major evolution over Valve’s first attempt, which was launched in 2015 before being discontinued in 2019, and will be based on similar ergonomic designs as the Steam Deck. This means that, alongside all the buttons and analogue sticks that gamers might be used to, it will also include a pair of trackpads, one on each side, as well as four extra buttons on its back.

Other features include support for six-axis gyro, as well as the ability to swap out parts in case they start wearing out. The Steam Controller will also come packaged with a magnetic puck that can stick to its back to charge its battery.

Valve had originally planned to launch its new slate of hardware in early 2026. However, global memory shortages have caused the company to push back its plans. Back in February, the company confirmed that it had to “revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing,” while also noting that it is planning to launch all three machines in the first half of the year.

“Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed,” explained Valve. “But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change. We will keep you updated as much as we can as we finalize those plans as soon as possible.”

Among the many details revealed is the $99 price. This would make it the most expensive controller, beating the PS5’s DualSense by $25, but it’s seemingly worth the cost. The Steam Controller features two trackpads, which allow for much easier scrolling, and received praise for feeling intuitive.

It also offers a six-axis gyro, four rear grip buttons and improved face buttons and D-Pad over the Steam Deck’s. You also get a dongle that serves as a charging puck. As for the complaints, you can’t customize the thumbsticks or swap out the faceplate. Swapping out the battery is also noted to be difficult, and, horror of horrors, there’s no audio jack.

Overall, the positives seemingly manage to outweigh the negatives, and given the sheer hype over the Steam Machine family, you can expect the Steam Controller to sell like hotcakes. All that remains is for the company to announce a release date.

However, in a Steamworks Development post, Valve said it would be shipping “all three products this year. More updates will be shared as we finalize our plans.” Memory shortages were once again to blame, but it seems that storage is also in short supply – a knock-on effect caused by the former.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean a delay past the first half of 2026, Valve’s wording feels very deliberate here. Regardless, the shortages don’t appear to be going away anytime soon, so you have to wonder if the new Steam Hardware will even launch this year. Time will tell.

Perhaps the most disheartening part of all this is that the long-rumored Half-Life 3 was allegedly slated to launch with the new Steam Machine. It was reportedly planned for Spring 2026, likely to coincide with the initial release date. Regardless of whether this is true or not, journalists like Insider-Gaming’s Mike Straw claim that the sequel, arguably the most anticipated of all time, is indeed real.

There haven’t been too many rumors lately, though, so stay tuned for updates.

“Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed,” explained Valve. “But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change. We will keep you updated as much as we can as we finalize those plans as soon as possible.”

Further in the post, Valve has also offered more details about the Steam Machine and Steam Frame through an FAQ-like structure. Through this, the company has confirmed that streaming services outside of Steam’s Remote Play will be supported thanks to the latter’s built-in web browser. The VR headset also won’t have out-of-the-box support for the Valve Index’s lighthouse base station for more advanced player tracking. However, the modular and extensible software design of the Steam Frame will allow for users to come up with their own third-party solutions to bring in new compatibility features.

As for the Steam Machine, Valve has confirmed that it will be sharing faceplate CAD files, specs and details to ensure that third-party companies will also be able to make their own custom faceplates for the pre-built PC. The company has also noted that its RAM—DDR5 SODIMMs—and SSD—NVMe 2230 or 2280—will be accessible and fully upgradeable.

Valve’s announcement comes just a day after AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su had announced during an earnings call that the Steam Machine is on track to be launched “early this year”. In a statement. Dr. Su also projected a double-digit percentage loss for its semi-custom SoC (system-on-a-chip) business owing to the current console generation still going strong.

“In gaming, revenue increased 50% year-over-year to $843 million. Semi-custom sales increased year-over-year and declined sequentially as expected,” she said. “For 2026, we expect semi-custom SoC annual revenue to decline by a significant double-digit percentage as we enter the seventh year of what has been a very strong console cycle. From a product standpoint, Valve is on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year.”

While Valve has been rather quiet about its pricing strategy for the Steam Machine, the company had confirmed back in November that the pre-built PC’s cost will be competitive with similarly-specced custom PCs. “I think that if you build a PC from parts and get to basically the same level of performance, that’s the general price window that we aim to be at,” said Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais in November.

For more on the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and new Steam Controller, here is everything you need to know.

The Steam Deck Verification program takes a number of things into account, including performance on the less-powerful hardware of the handheld system, as well as other aspects like the usability and readability of the UI on the smaller display, and whether or not it will manually require players to pull out the on-screen keyboard. The Steam Machine, in contrast, is a considerably more powerful system—referred to by Valve as being equivalent to six Steam Decks in its announcement video—and games will likely end up having an easier time running on it. Along with this, the Steam Machine also doesn’t have a tiny screen that UI and UX designers might have to account for, and keyboards are expected to be connected to it anyway since it is essentially a desktop PC.

Along with this, Yang also noted that a game being Steam Deck Verified also means that it is automatically Steam Machine Verified. “One easy rule of thumb is that if your title is Verified on Steam Deck, it will be Verified on Steam Machine,” he said. The major difference with Valve’s new set of hardware will end up being with the Steam Frame, which will likely have its own set of requirements that Yang has noted Valve will discuss with developers. He said that the company will “be going through the same rounds of testing and providing developer feedback,” as it does with its Verification program for the Steam Deck.

The Steam Machine was announced alongside the Steam Frame and the new Steam Controller in November. While the company hasn’t yet announced a launch date for the new products, it has been revealing quite a few details. Engineer Steve Cardinali, for instance, has revealed why the company went with a separate wireless protocol for the new Steam Controller to connect with a PC rather than Bluetooth.

“While Bluetooth is a great wireless connection method, we found in our testing that people’s home wireless environments and PC Bluetooth capabilities are highly variable (clogged networks, wireless interference, increased latency when using multiple BT devices, etc.),” said Cardinali, who went on to note that the new Steam Controller’s Puck “addresses these issues.”

“Another problem we set out to solve was the fact that dedicated wireless receivers that are plugged directly into the back of a PC near other USB ports can create interference issues. Adding the charging capability encourages people to leave the puck in a place where it’s likely to have minimal interference while providing a really easy charging experience,” he continued.

For more details on Valve’s new hardware, here is everything you need to know. Also check out rumours of the highly-anticipated Half-Life 3 apparently being a launch title for the Steam Machine.