The Steam Controller has launched and is already sold out, with Valve working to get more back in stock. One might think that a $99 controller wouldn’t sell quickly, but it didn’t stop a frantic buying period that saw Valve’s payment system crash during its launch. It only took 30 minutes for it to sell out, and the parasitic side of society, aka scalpers, began posting their latest plunders online for as much as three times over MSRP. Don’t worry, though, as Valve has already stated that it is working on getting more in stock, so if folks can get over FOMO and just wait a bit longer, they should be able to get a hold of one soon.
Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it. We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon.
— Valve (@valvesoftware) May 5, 2026
Given the hype and media coverage for Valve’s latest family of gaming products, along with its experience in launching the Steam Deck, it is a bit surprising this launch went ahead as it did. One does wonder why Valve doesn’t consider the Steam Controller a high-demand product and didn’t set up a pre-order system as it did with the Steam Deck. Valve has yet to reveal how many units were sold, but it could likely be reconsidering the $99 MSRP. After all, with the bingo card nearly completely filled out, there are a plethora of reasons any company can raise prices on a product these days that would seem plausible.
Meanwhile, according to a report by The Verge, Valve has imported roughly 50 tons of product since the start of the month, which import records listed as “Game Consoles”. Now, before anyone gets too excited, this may or may not be the Steam Machine or Steam Frame. At the moment, some are optimistic it may be, but let’s not forget that Steam Deck inventory sold out months ago, and this could simply be a restock, so we’ll just have to wait and see.