Here’s the timeline: Steam Controller reviews went live on April 27 (here’s ours). The same day, Valve announced the controller’s availability date (May 4) and price ($99). A week of pontification about the gamepad’s price followed, and by the morning of May 5, the Steam Controller was officially sold out.
Which brings us to now. Valve tweeted the following message around noon ET today: “Steam Controller sold out faster than expected, and we hate that everyone who wanted one wasn’t able to get it. We’re working to have more in stock and will have an update on the expected schedule soon.” Meanwhile, some buyers have seen their estimated shipping dates slowly increase.
Valve is working on shipping the Steam Controller as soon as possible and figuring out how to replenish its supply, while (apparently) trying to launch the Steam Machine console and Steam Frame VR headset. The company had originally planned to release the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame in early 2026, creating a fully contained couch-PC gaming situation, but it’s the fifth month of the year and the Steam Controller has only just seen the light of day. In March, Valve laid the groundwork for its hardware to miss 2026 entirely.
The Steam Machine and Steam Frame have been delayed by ongoing memory shortages, causing chaos in the tech industry. However, there are reasons to be optimistic. Valve imported approximately 50 tons of “game consoles” to its U.S. distribution centers between April 30 and May 1, a volume higher than its recent Steam Deck restocking orders, as reported by Valve Watcher Brad Lynch and corroborated by The edge. Speculation is that these are Steam Machines or Steam Frames, but Valve has yet to comment. Valve has a long and storied history of executives and extremely disappointing ones, so as always, hope at your own risk.