Valve have now confirmed the new Steam Controller is launching May 4th, and they've confirmed the pricing too. They're launching without the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, sadly. Valve have been stuck in a hard place here with the prices of components rising due to AI companies and there's no new information on when they might appear just yet.
The Steam Controller will be priced at US: $99 USD / Canada: $149 CAD / EU: €99 / UK: £85 / AUD 149 / PLN 419. Those prices Valve say are “inclusive of VAT where applicable”. It will work across any system that has Steam including PCs and Laptops, Steam Deck and eventually of course the Steam Frame and Steam Machine too. Basically anywhere that Steam Input works.
From the press release Valve just sent:
- High-performance, ergonomic controller:
- Next-generation magnetic thumbsticks with TMR technology
- Full-sized controls
- Trackpads
- Grip buttons
- Grip-enabled Gyro (Grip Sense)
- Comes with a cool puck!
- Puck serves as a wireless transmitter for a fast, stable connection
- ...and it's also a charging station (clicks in magnetically to your Controller)
- Battery life capable of supporting 35+ hours of gameplay
Valve said it will release around May 4th, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific / 5PM UTC.
Where will it be available? The Steam Controller will be available on Steam in the following regions: U.S., CA, U.K., EU, and AU; as well as in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan through Komodo Station in those regions.
See more in the Valve blog post.
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Reviews elsewhere have gone live as various websites and YouTube channels (like Gamers Nexus) had access early, but as of yet Valve have not supplied GamingOnLinux with one. I'm hoping we'll see one eventually.
As one of the biggest fans of the original Steam Controller, I'm keen to see in my own hands how much it has improved since their first attempt.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Squires-Hand
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can follow me personally on Mastodon [External Link].
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Linux_Rocks 27 Apr 2026
I prefer Revenge of the 5th, thank you. But anyways... Unless some key use case comes up, these are a hard pass for me at that price point. I've got 2 Xbox Series controllers and the adapter for extra low latency. The adapter works in Linux and I can deal with just using Bluetooth on Mac.
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GustyGhost 28 Apr 2026
Quoting: Liam Dawebut as of yet Valve have not supplied GamingOnLinux with one.That's because Gaben is on his way to personally deliver a controller to you. Check your phone he's been trying to reach you all day.
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i was hopoing this could sell a lot so developers could make games targeting it, not exclusives to it nescessary, but games designed for it like the DS games were designed for the DS... or the Wii games...
but that price, its a deal breaker for many that will prevent mass adoption.
on the other hand, i think valve can be playing their hands like this: over charge this, to have a good margir for profit that they could use elsewhere, while at the same time make the bundle with the steam machines bundle seems more enticing.
i mean, if you can purchase an steam machine without controler for, lets say 700, but with 50 dollars more get an controller priced at 99 dollars...
a lot of people will go for it.
anyway i really hope the trackpads dont get wasted as an optional feature only.
but that price, its a deal breaker for many that will prevent mass adoption.
on the other hand, i think valve can be playing their hands like this: over charge this, to have a good margir for profit that they could use elsewhere, while at the same time make the bundle with the steam machines bundle seems more enticing.
i mean, if you can purchase an steam machine without controler for, lets say 700, but with 50 dollars more get an controller priced at 99 dollars...
a lot of people will go for it.
anyway i really hope the trackpads dont get wasted as an optional feature only.
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spacemonkey 28 Apr 2026
Too expensive for a controller I want, but don't need
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyThe steam controller needs (or needed) steam to be any use.Quoting: TimeFreezeLets hope the controller works without Steam as well.I bet you can also run it on electricity. I mean, some people can't get coal.
The only way to get it working is/was https://github.com/kozec/sc-controller .
I would like to be linux compatible, but valve will not do it.
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hardpenguin 28 Apr 2026
This is quite pricey but I am getting one for sure. If there ever is a sizeable discount then I am getting another one.
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I like it and I hope there's available stock to buy it. I have some games on my steam library to start with... :)
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Gerarderloper 28 Apr 2026
AUD 149,
Hmmm, really doubt its worth that. Even $100AUD I was going to be skeptical. Will wait and see how people respond. I'm not going for a steam machine thing, AMD7600 gpu, its going to also come at a premium.
The Steam Frame certainly sounds interesting, but again, another expensive VR toy. By the time I get around to getting one its likely going to be 2030 at this rate.
I'm also not sold on old style LCD panels as they have way too much backlit bleed and incapable of producing blacks which imo is important for VR. Maybe Sony's new LCD technology can save VR LCD solutions down the road if it ever comes to them. mOLED still being too expensive and not very compatible with compact lens tech. (cuts out too much light, causes DIM image)
Hmmm, really doubt its worth that. Even $100AUD I was going to be skeptical. Will wait and see how people respond. I'm not going for a steam machine thing, AMD7600 gpu, its going to also come at a premium.
The Steam Frame certainly sounds interesting, but again, another expensive VR toy. By the time I get around to getting one its likely going to be 2030 at this rate.
I'm also not sold on old style LCD panels as they have way too much backlit bleed and incapable of producing blacks which imo is important for VR. Maybe Sony's new LCD technology can save VR LCD solutions down the road if it ever comes to them. mOLED still being too expensive and not very compatible with compact lens tech. (cuts out too much light, causes DIM image)
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Quoting: Renzatic GearOh lord above, IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!We need banana for scale!
Quoting: rea987Too big for my taste.It's actually not that big, if we go by the hands on pic in this article.
...unless he's a giant or something.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/valves-new-steam-controller-aims-to-entice-a-broader-field-of-pc-players-which-i-fear-already-includes-me
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Liam Squires-Hand 28 Apr 2026
When I eventually get one, it will be the true size test. I have tiny hands.
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CyborgZeta 28 Apr 2026
I am satisfied with my GameSir Tegenaria, but I will buy one. I love the Deck's controller layout, and that's what this is.
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Quoting: Liam DaweWhen I eventually get one, it will be the true size test. I have tiny hands.From what I have seen it looks perfectly fine for small hands. I am more afraid it will feel tiny in my enormous mole hands xD Guess I will see when I get one. I really like the Steam Decks ergonomics so I think the controller should fit as well.
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Quoting: spacemonkeyToo expensive for a controller I want, but don't needThis is exactly me. I only ever use controller gaming on the couch with my buddy, and we have two 8bitdo controllers that work perfectly fine and combined cost LESS than this single valve controller. Wow that price.
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Unfortunately even if it were half this price I'd struggle to justify it given my wireless Xbone controller w/ rechargeable batteries has been working well for almost 14 years at this point. I hope they sell well as they seem to be building on really good fundamentals.
I feel like Steam keeps narrowly missing me with their hardware releases in terms of price/features (Steam Machine vRAM, Steam Deck availability, not into VR w/ the Steam Frame, etc.), which is a shame because they do good work.
I feel like Steam keeps narrowly missing me with their hardware releases in terms of price/features (Steam Machine vRAM, Steam Deck availability, not into VR w/ the Steam Frame, etc.), which is a shame because they do good work.
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Quoting: Liam DaweWhen I eventually get one, it will be the true size test. I have tiny hands.In the meanwhile, Linus Tech Tips did a review of it, who also has small hands. The size itself is roughly comparable to an XBox controller, but he did complain about the span between the edge of the controller, and the analog sticks.
It's not a dealbreaker for me (I have regular non-gnomish hands), but I could see how it could be an issue for some.
0 Likes
Liam Squires-Hand 28 Apr 2026
Quoting: Renzatic GearI can guarantee I have smaller hands 😆🙃Quoting: Liam DaweWhen I eventually get one, it will be the true size test. I have tiny hands.In the meanwhile, Linus Tech Tips did a review of it, who also has small hands. The size itself is roughly comparable to an XBox controller, but he did complain about the span between the edge of the controller, and the analog sticks.
It's not a dealbreaker for me (I have regular non-gnomish hands), but I could see how it could be an issue for some.
2 Likes 👍 (2) See more...
So is there any confirmation if steam-input/steam is required for it to work?
Might get one on my next payslip, same time I'm pretty happy with my 8bitdo 2c ultimate which is a fantastic controller especially for the price
Might get one on my next payslip, same time I'm pretty happy with my 8bitdo 2c ultimate which is a fantastic controller especially for the price
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Quoting: Doktor-MandrakeSo is there any confirmation if steam-input/steam is required for it to work?I would guess that Steam would be required. At least at launch.
Might get one on my next payslip, same time I'm pretty happy with my 8bitdo 2c ultimate which is a fantastic controller especially for the price
I didn't own the original Steam Controller so I could be wrong. But from what I understand it was initially tied to Steam. A separate driver did eventually surface, to use it as a generic HID USB gamepad. But it was developed by third party, not Valve.
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Quoting: Doktor-MandrakeSo is there any confirmation if steam-input/steam is required for it to work?I believe it was an IGN interview where they said it is first and foremost designed to work with Steam, but also functions as a basic HID device (emulating mouse and keyboard), so you can navigate BIOS screens with it, for example. It was noted that it does NOT work with consoles. But it wasn't entirely clear if it would work out of the box as a gamepad outside of Steam. I suspect it will work with games that utilize SDL3, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Linux kernel support for it eventually, but perhaps not initially.
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If a higher price tags equates to higher quality builds and wages for those making it, then I'd be happy to eat a few more peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and wait another pay cheque if necessary to buy something. It's a small sacrifice for me to make a bigger impact in the world.
I agree that it would be nice if it worked OOB like a regular controller across platforms, or had some way to configure via a QMK UI.
The only two features I'd really like to see are:
• RGB LEDs behind/around each key that I could customize.
• spinners around the thumb sticks like the Atari Gamestation Go has.
• bonus: small or full width screen attachment. Double bonus if it has a speaker or two.
I think additional grips and skins will be readily available via third parties.
Though, I'm not sure why Valve doesn't have fun cashing in on a great variety of these. They could easily enough deal with publishers for limited edition artwork on controller covers and such. They ought to be shipping things like this out to other retailers, or set up for them to handle things behind the scenes and ship directly themselves.
(lulz at the hyperthetical Good Old Games skins)
Hey, where are the GOL [Dbrand] skins‽ Would anyone else rep the cool penguin dude on eir Deck, Steam Controllers, or anything?
Stickers that say "Yes, I am GamingOnLinux" would be really fun to put on a laptop. 😉😉
Also, I have four of the original Steam Controllers. Two of which have never been opened. 😋
I agree that it would be nice if it worked OOB like a regular controller across platforms, or had some way to configure via a QMK UI.
The only two features I'd really like to see are:
• RGB LEDs behind/around each key that I could customize.
• spinners around the thumb sticks like the Atari Gamestation Go has.
• bonus: small or full width screen attachment. Double bonus if it has a speaker or two.
I think additional grips and skins will be readily available via third parties.
Though, I'm not sure why Valve doesn't have fun cashing in on a great variety of these. They could easily enough deal with publishers for limited edition artwork on controller covers and such. They ought to be shipping things like this out to other retailers, or set up for them to handle things behind the scenes and ship directly themselves.
(lulz at the hyperthetical Good Old Games skins)
Hey, where are the GOL [Dbrand] skins‽ Would anyone else rep the cool penguin dude on eir Deck, Steam Controllers, or anything?
Stickers that say "Yes, I am GamingOnLinux" would be really fun to put on a laptop. 😉😉
Also, I have four of the original Steam Controllers. Two of which have never been opened. 😋
2 Likes 👍 (2) See more...
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