The Steam Machine 2.0 set off a flurry of speculation on blurred lines between PC gaming and consoles. The Steam Frame had me hoping Valve could save the struggling VR gaming niche. But both of those devices rely on RAM and storage… which means their very existences are kind of up in the air right now. But Valve’s new Steam Controller doesn’t have that problem.
Update: A few hours after this story went up, it became official: The new Steam controller will arrive on May 4th for $100.
A series of leaks sure seem to indicate that the Steam Controller 2.0 is being prepped for a full release, possibly months before the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. And though it looks like it’ll be expensive—$100, which is $30 more than an Xbox controller right now—it might still become the de facto standard for PC gaming controllers.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, the leaks. A YouTuber accidentally set a video to live for what looks like the final, retail release of the Steam Controller. The reviewer said the device is “only $25 more than a PS5 controller.” Since the current version of the DualSense retails for $74.99, yeah, that $100 price tag tracks.
If you’re wincing, consider that all first-party controllers have gotten more expensive in the last few years, and the revived version of the Steam Controller features dual touchpads, gyroscopic sensors, TMR (similar to Hall effect) sticks, a dedicated wireless “puck” that doubles as a magnetic charger, and four rear buttons. In capability, it’s a lot closer to the PS5 controller than the Xbox controller. With the high-speed USB adapter in the box and a second touchpad, the price isn’t unreasonable, even if it’s more than I was hoping for.
More leaks. In the latest version of SteamOS, the new Steam Controller gets explicit support, indicating Valve is prepping it for game time. (I will not ask you to pardon the pun. It’s Monday morning and my coffee hasn’t kicked in yet. We’re gonna sit here and look that pun right in the face.) We’ve also seen Steam Controller shipping manifests for the United States, so it looks like the hardware is just about ready to roll out in at least one territory.
While I’m normally reticent to report news based on news alone, the rapid-fire nature of this stuff coming on over the last month makes me pretty confident that we’ll see the second-gen Steam Controller landing within the next few weeks.
Valve
Should you get one? That question really does need to wait for full reviews. But even with that high price tag, I’m pretty excited. If the Steam Controller was just a retread of the original, pretty flawed design but with a second thumbstick and full D-pad, it would still be interesting. But this is a new device that’s integrating the trendiest controller tech from the last 10 years, with all the software tricks Valve has learned in the interim, specifically for making mouse-and-keyboard games work with a controller form factor.
This is a big deal if you’re playing PC games on a couch, either with a docked Steam Deck (or other handheld) or with a full PC plugged into it, a la Valve’s promo shots for the Steam Machine. That was, indeed, always the plan for the Steam Controller. But after years of work on the Steam Deck and SteamOS, not to mention certifying hundreds of games, Valve knows what it’s doing. Even that leaked review indicates that it still can’t beat a mouse and keyboard for full competitive titles like Counter-Strike or League of Legends, but it’s more than enough if you just want to play a conventional PC game while holding a big hunk of plastic.
Should you get one if you play PC games at a desk in a chair? I doubt it will be necessary. Despite newer and arguably better controllers hitting the market, my Xbox Elite controller hasn’t been shaken from its perch. But for just about anyone else, especially if you want a controller that can handle multiple devices, it will probably be really appealing. Valve has a chance to make a new controller standard for PC gaming, in the same way it’s done for software distribution and PC handhelds. I’ll be interested to see if it sticks the landing.
