Why the Steam Controller is (and isn’t) a big deal

Most PC gamers already have a controller they love using with Steam — a Sony DualSense, a 8BitDo Ultimate, a Nintendo Switch Pro, or something else. Part of that love comes from Steam treating them like “native” controllers. They can do the things that made the first Steam Controller worth buying. Namely, they offer a level of customizable control never before seen on PC and that you still can’t get on a console.

With Steam Input, any of those controllers can have multiple control schemes for different game scenarios (flight, on-foot, in menus), and you swap between them with a button press. You can also create onscreen menus that bloom when you press a button or touch a trackpad, revealing an array of custom commands — weapons, spells, consumables, you name it.

That’s why the idea of a new physical Steam Controller doesn’t hit the same way it used to. But Valve nevertheless improved upon its misunderstood predecessor with a 2026 model that has features you can’t find anywhere else. Basically, it crams the Steam Deck’s huge suite of inputs into a single gamepad, including those twin touchpads. It’s a Steam Deck without a screen, plus a little bit more.

I appreciate the small hardware refinements over the Steam Deck. For instance, the new Steam Controller has drift-resistant TMR joysticks that shouldn’t degrade over time — something Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have yet to offer. I find it has better ergonomics than the Deck, four rear buttons that are easier to press, and unique touch-sensitive sensors embedded in the sticks and grips that can be mapped to any input. It is ridiculously customizable, and it’ll be user-repairable, too, with replacement parts eventually hitting iFixit’s shop.

Some people won’t need any more convincing than that to buy one when orders open May 4th for $99. Even those who don’t often customize controls may still dig what the Steam Controller offers. It’s comfortable to use, offers long battery life, and the build quality is better than the original — just weighty enough, with a tough, somewhat gritty plastic that looks and feels high-end. Beyond all that, its included 2.4GHz USB-C puck makes pairing and charging a lot more seamless than most other models.

The five-foot-long or so USB-C-to-A cable lets you place the puck wherever it’s most convenient at your setup, be it a gaming PC or in your entertainment center. Maintaining line of sight between the puck and the Steam Controller isn’t required, but it’s ideal for maintaining a good signal. Another reason to keep the puck accessible is because it’s a magnetic charging dock for the controller, attaching with a satisfying snap.

First-time pairing is a breeze. Just attach the controller to the puck and follow an onscreen prompt to tether them (and likely install some firmware updates). You can forgo using the puck as a wireless receiver by putting the Steam Controller into Bluetooth mode, or by using it as a wired gamepad. Importantly, you can wake your PC or Steam Deck from sleep by pressing the controller’s Steam button.

While some, including me, see the value in what I’ve laid out, others may not be so easily persuaded to ditch the controllers they’re already using. There’s no immediate need to buy this if you’re happy with what you already have. You can still have a good time by connecting the gyro-equipped Sony DualSense or an 8BitDo Ultimate 2 over Bluetooth to a Steam Deck, a PC, or to the upcoming Steam Machine.

Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais tells The Verge that both its Bluetooth and custom 2.4GHz puck are “very comparable” in latency, with a delay of only about 8ms after your button press regardless of which wireless tech you use. But 2.4GHz is the way to go if local multiplayer gaming is popular at your get-togethers. Bluetooth latency gets worse the more controllers you connect — but the puck’s latency can hold steady even with a full four Steam Controllers connected to it, says Griffais. (I only have the one pad, so I couldn’t test.)

Compared to the Steam Deck, the new controller offers slightly deeper customization thanks to its Grip Sense grips that detect when you touch them, something you won’t find on rival controllers. They work similar to the Deck’s touch-sensitive joysticks, which are present here too. It was fun making subtle changes to how games control, like mapping the faster-than-light Pulse Drive feature in No Man’s Sky (originally bound to L1 + R1) to activate when I firmly hold the right grip. In Marathon, I was tired of clicking the left stick to sprint, so I set holding the left grip to start sprinting. I can’t wait to see what the Steam community does with them.

The new Steam Controller isn’t necessarily a direct competitor to “pro” controllers like Sony’s $199 DualSense Edge, the $200 Xbox Elite Series 2, or Razer’s $229 Kaiju V3 Pro. It lacks swappable joy sticks, while its competitors include shorter, taller, convex, or concave stick caps to swap on the fly. It also doesn’t have trigger stops for shortening the pull of its triggers to feel like a mouse click. But for what it lacks, the Steam Controller makes up for by having dual trackpads, four rear buttons, and a dedicated Steam Quick Access button, not to mention the ability to use it to type and navigate on your PC (even in your BIOS, if you plug in a USB-C cable). Plus, it costs only about half what those competitors do.

The Steam Controller doesn’t have onboard storage for your controller profiles like some other high-end controllers, but Valve didn’t necessarily drop the ball. Griffais tells The Verge that Steam tracks a unique identifier for each controller independently of your computer, so you can use your saved control schemes even if you’re plugged into a PC that’s signed into someone else’s Steam account.

Even if you’re intrigued by the new Steam Controller’s polished hardware and deep customization, it’s not an essential upgrade if you already have a preferred controller for Steam games. That might seem like a strange conclusion to arrive at, but it’s good, as most other companies would have locked down any and all special features for their own “native” controller.

Valve isn’t like most companies, and its Steam Controller isn’t quite like other controllers. If you mainly play on a Steam Deck, like my colleague Jay Peters, seamlessly getting to use all your existing control schemes might be worth the price by itself. If not, its unique features may still make it worth buying.