Valve has announced a new model of the Steam Controller as part of its Steam hardware lineup. Shipments will begin in early 2026, with specific dates and pricing to be announced after the New Year.
The new full-sized controller is compatible with the simultaneously announced Steam Machine and Steam Frame, as well as the Steam Deck and any other PCs that can run Steam. Considering it bears the same name as the existing Steam Controller from 2015, the new model is likely positioned as a direct successor.
The Steam Controller shares the same core foundations as the Steam Deck, equipped with all inputs necessary to play any Steam game. Its most distinctive feature is probably the square trackpads located below the analog sticks. On the Steam Deck, these are used when playing games that don’t have controller support or only have partial support. Separate from the vibration function built into the grips, the trackpads also incorporate haptics.
The analog sticks feature next-gen high-precision magnetic thumbsticks, which offer improved responsiveness. There are two rear buttons on the backsides of each of the grips, with freely assignable functions. Like the Steam Deck, the controller also includes Steam/QAM buttons for accessing various menus. It looks like there are capacitive touch sensors embedded in the grip section, which should enable quick toggling of gyro functionality, but the details remain undisclosed for now.
The Steam Controller supports wireless Bluetooth connectivity, wired USB connectivity, and a proprietary wireless standard. For this proprietary wireless standard, a pre-paired device called the Steam Controller Puck is provided, allowing up to four units to connect simultaneously. Specifications list a maximum latency of 8ms and a polling rate of 4ms, enabling low-latency wireless connectivity that is more stable than Bluetooth. Battery life exceeds 35 hours.
The Steam Controller is scheduled to begin shipping in early 2026. It will ship to all regions currently shipping the Steam Deck (US, Canada, UK, EU and Australia) as well as Komodo regions (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan).
