Valve has shared both encouraging and disappointing news for people hoping to buy a Steam Controller. On the plus side, anyone placing a reservation will now see one of three estimated order windows for the gamepad: by September 2026, by December 2026, or sometime in 2027. The downside is that reservations made now are currently showing a 2027 shipping estimate, according to the company.
“We have no plans to stop making Steam Controller,” Valve said. “But as we look at the current demand compared to how many we know we can make by the end of the year, we want to manage expectations as much as we can with regards to when folks can expect to receive their order.”
Valve’s well-received new Steam Controller first went on sale in early May, but the initial surge in demand caused checkout issues for some buyers before the device eventually sold out. A few days later, Valve said it would introduce a reservation system, allowing interested customers to join a waitlist instead. Once a person on that list is notified that a controller is available, they have 72 hours to complete the purchase.
“When we launched Steam Controller last month, we quickly saw that initial demand exceeded our expectations,” Valve said. “Switching to a reservation queue has (hopefully) cut down on the headaches on the customer side, and for us it’s also been helpful as we plan ahead and try to get as many out as quickly as we are able.”
Valve’s three major hardware products were all pushed back from an intended early 2026 release due to the ongoing component shortage. The company still has not said when the Steam Machine PC or the Steam Frame VR headset will be available. Even so, Valve officially rolled out its major SteamOS 3.8 update just yesterday, adding support for the Steam Machine, and it has also recently been importing significant amounts of hardware into the US.
