Valve Steam Controller Review (2026): Wait for the Steam Machine

Key points

• A decade on from the original Steam Controller, Valve is back with a modern update, ditching the unwieldy dimensions, splayed grips, and odd trackpads, instead adopting a much more conventional design approach—and some slightly different trackpads.
• This second-generation Steam Controller arrives at an odd time, though.
• The new joypad is part of Valve's renewed push into the hardware space, meant to be used alongside the console-like Steam Machine gaming PC—itself another revamped foray into the field—and the Steam Frame, the company’s new VR headset.
• Except both of those are delayed, largely because the AI bubble is sucking up RAM, GPUs, and CPUs with the gravitational pull of a black hole.
• At the time of writing, neither of Valve’s other projects has a release date or confirmed price.