Valve preaches patience.
Steam controllers have been effectively sold out since they went on sale, and there is no indication that the supply crisis will ease. In fact, Valve has announced that any new gamepad orders might not ship until 2027, although one can hope things will improve by then. Users who have already ordered a device can check the corresponding page on Steam to find out when their order will be fulfilled. Current deadlines are September 2026 and December 2026, with additional orders expected “in 2027”.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Steam Controller is Valve’s latest proprietary gamepad designed to work exclusively with Steam. Woozad’s Jessica Conditt reviewed it in April and said it was a sturdy, stylish gamepad with premium TMR thumbsticks. The only downside, really, is that it’s specifically designed to work only with Steam, rather than as a generic PC gamepad, as part of Valve’s quest to maintain its dominance.
“Initial demand exceeded our expectations,” wrote an anonymous company spokesperson after a big gulp of euphemism juice. “If we look at current demand versus the number we know we can produce by the end of the year, we can’t manage expectations as much as we can,” they added. Of course, the same statement indicates that the company will try to release as many devices as it can. But these delays are worth keeping in mind given that Valve is also committed to bringing its PC/console Steam Machine and Steam Frame headset into homes this summer.
