Steam Controller release date speculation, pre-orders and specs

Alongside the glitz and glamour of the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, the humble Steam Controller was announced as part of Valve's upcoming tranche of hardware, and we've got all you need to know about the second coming of the handheld trackpad from release date speculation, pre-orders, specs and more.

Since the big reveal in November 2025, we've had some more impressions, with a developer praising the Steam Controller's 'Mac-like' trackpads. A Godot VR developer also gave their thoughts on a Steam Frame developer kit, which we now know to have a Steam Frame verification program.

It's not been all good news, however, as the memory pricing crisis, dubbed 'RAMageddon', has wreaked havoc on the tech world, which has delayed the launch, causing many to question how much the Steam Machine will cost. The Steam Deck also saw regional stock issues as a result of this. With the Steam Deck 2 still a while away, it might be worth picking up a Steam Deck OLED if you can.

Fortunately, recent market trends indicate that the price of memory modules is decreasing, but the situation is, as always, volatile.

But that's quite enough negativity! For those of us who loved the original Steam Controller, this honestly might be the most exciting announcement.

When is the Steam Controller release date?

The Steam Controller release date is the first half of 2026, according to Valve.

The Steam Controller will release alongside the Steam Machine, as the console-PC hybrid comes with one, though stock may be hard to come by if the produced controllers so far are to be bundled with the Steam Machine.

Due to the ongoing RAM pricing crisis, the Steam Machine, along with the Steam Frame, was delayed. For now, it appears that the Steam Controller, despite not being sensitive to the same kind of memory shortages, has been delayed too.

Currently, there is no word on whether Valve would set aside the stock needed to be bundled with the Steam Machine and start selling surplus controllers before the rest of the Steam hardware is released.

Once we know more, we will update you in due course.

Can I pre-order the Steam Controller?

No, you cannot pre-order the Steam Controller.

You can, however, wishlist the Steam Controller on Steam so that you are notified the moment it becomes available to do so, or to buy it if Valve skips pre-orders entirely.

As we have said for both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, it is not known whether or not Valve will use a reservation system as it did when the Steam Deck was first introduced.

Controllers have fewer market-constrained components, so hopefully Valve will have just been able to mass-produce enough units for a general launch.

Can I buy the Steam Controller separately?

Yes, the Steam Controller can be bought separately.

You do not need to purchase a Steam Machine in order to get your hands on the Steam Controller. This was the case with the original Steam Controller back in 2015 as well.

It makes sense, as many people's gaming PCs and laptops will be a great deal more performant than the Steam Machine, but will want the unique controller inputs.

As we said before, Valve may need to build enough Steam Controllers for the Steam Machine before selling them separately, but currently, there is no way of knowing this.

Can I use the Steam Controller on PlayStation, Xbox or Switch?

No, you cannot use the Steam Controller on other consoles such as PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles or the Nintendo Switch or Switch 2.

As Valve stipulates on the Steam Controller product page, the Steam Controller only "works with any PC or device running Steam or the Steam Link app. This includes Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, as well as tablets and smartphones".

Still, that’s a huge market, and on PC, you can add non-steam games to the Steam launcher, enabling the usage of Steam Input to get your controller setup just the way you like it.

What is the Steam Controller? Specs explained

The Steam Controller is essentially a Steam Deck with the screen and computing internals removed.

It has all the usual controller inputs, such as ABXY buttons, a D-pad, analogue sticks, shoulder buttons and back buttons, but it also has two trackpads, a feature which distinguishes the Steam Deck from other PC handhelds.

These trackpads make it easier to play games that traditionally require the use of a mouse, such as strategy games.

Though you can play first-person shooters with an analogue stick, it’s typically far less precise than with a mouse or trackpad. However, the included analogue sticks are rather swanky, as they are magnetic thumbsticks (TMR), making them super reliable, with stick-drift eliminated as they are continuously calibrated.

There is also gyro-aiming, enabled by the included gyroscope. This also affords you precise mouse-like input, and it’s best visualised by thinking of how you would use a Wiimote on the Nintendo Wii, though the way you manipulate the Steam Controller is different.

The Steam Controller knows when you are holding it, too, with two capacitive areas along the back of the handles and capacitive thumbsticks, so you can assign gyro-aim to only be enabled when your left thumb is on the left analogue stick, for example.

The Steam Controller can connect to devices via Bluetooth, or an included charging puck, which offers a more reliable connection with lower-latency.

For a detailed breakdown of what exactly makes up the Steam Controller, check out the specs below:

Steam Controller specs

Controls and Input

• Gamepad controls – A B X Y buttons, D-pad, L & R analog triggers, L & R bumpers, View & Menu buttons, Steam & QAM buttons, 4x assignable grip buttons
• Thumbsticks – 2x full-size magnetic thumbsticks (TMR) with capacitive touch
• Haptics – 4x haptic motors, 2x LRA haptic motors in trackpads for HD tactile feedback, 2x High output LRA haptic motors in grips for HD game haptics including rumble
• Trackpads – 2x 34.5mm square trackpads with haptic feedback, pressure-sensitive for configurable click strength
• Gyro – 6-axis IMU
• Grip Sense – 2x capacitive areas along back of Steam Controller handles

Connectivity

• Steam Controller Puck – 2.4GHz Wireless connection, ~8ms full end-to-end, 4ms polling rate (measured at 5m). Up to 4 Steam Controllers per Steam Controller Puck. Steam Controller Puck connects to PC via USB-C
• Bluetooth – Bluetooth 4.2 minimum, 5.0 or higher recommended
• USB – USB-C tethered play

Power

• Charging – Steam Controller Puck charging interface, USB-C connector
• Battery – 8.39 Wh Li-ion battery (35+ hours of gameplay). Battery life for tracked gameplay with Steam Frame is reduced

Size and Weight

• Size – Steam Controller: 111mm x 159mm x 57mm. Steam Controller Puck: 50mm x 28mm x 9mm
• Weight – Steam Controller: 292g, Steam Controller Puck: 16g

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