After months of delays, rumors, and a leaked review that beat the official reveal to the punch, Valve has finally confirmed the date and price for its new Steam Controller: it launches on May 4, 2026, at 10:00 AM Pacific, for $99 USD.
Regional pricing shakes out as £85 in the UK, €99 in Europe, $149 CAD, $149 AUD, and PLN 419 in Poland. As with other Valve hardware, you won’t find it at retail; purchases go through the Steam store directly. In Asia-Pacific markets like Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Valve is working with distributor Komodo Station rather than selling through Steam itself.
So what do you actually get for the money? The headlining features are a pair of 34.5mm square trackpads with high-definition haptic feedback (carrying the torch from the 2015 original), dual analog sticks using Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) technology for improved precision and long-term durability, and a 6-axis gyroscope with Grip Sense, which auto-activates gyro controls when you touch designated areas on the back or the sticks. Four programmable rear buttons round out the back panel, and a wireless “Controller Puck” handles both the low-latency wireless connection and magnetic charging. Battery life is rated at 35+ hours. For VR-adjacent use, infrared LEDs allow external camera tracking. The controller is compatible with any device running Steam or the Steam Link app, including the Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Machine.
At $99, Valve is positioning this between standard console pads and premium pro controllers like the Xbox Elite Series 2 and DualSense Edge, both of which run north of $150. The TMR sticks are a differentiation: stick drift is one of the most common hardware failures in console-style controllers, and magnetic thumbstick technology eliminates the root cause rather than just treating the symptom. Whether the trackpads earn their place for most users is the more open question, but for PC games that benefit from mouse-like input, they remain the most practical solution in a controller form factor.
Valve noted that pricing may vary by region due to tariffs, import duties, and local market conditions, which is a reasonable hedge given the current environment. The elephant in the room is that this is still just the controller; the Steam Machine and Steam Frame remain on the horizon, with no updated timeline confirmed alongside today’s announcement.
May 4th be with you.
Discussion (6 replies)
Join Discussion →I mean... that's not beyond expectation for cost... if its good.
I'll probably just stick with my XBox Elite controller for the time being. Have seen mixed reviews online.
It's a small nitpick but I do wish more controllers were compatible with the Xbox wireless dongle thing.
Don't want 3/4 different wireless pucks and dongles hanging off my PC.
Wouldnt that be making your gripe worse?
Even Microsoft moved from that dongle to the more ubiquitous Bluetooth
- Dongle is still around packaged with some Xbox controller skus, and blutooth with wireless controllers results in higher input latency and worse connection than the dongle.
I've used both (blutooth with my laptop for convenience) and while its not unsuable or anything it is definitely a worse connection that's really intended for streaming music and connecting smartwatches and such rather than rapid back and forth communication.
You have 10Gbps, buy a USB-C hub.
Of note: I discovered the latency issues I've told you about with my Xbox BT controller, do not seem to be present on Linux. Neither Holo.iso nor Bazzite played well with it, literally, connection issues out the butt. With Cachy it is the best it has ever been.