Sometimes good ideas aren't fully formed when they're put into practice the first time around. The original Steam Controller that came out back in 2015 was a uniquely designed gamepad for PC gaming, but it was too awkward to be a mainstay. Still, it had features – namely its haptic touchpads that allow for mouse-like control – that paved the way for how the Steam Deck handles. In turn, the Steam Deck has now informed this new iteration of the Steam Controller. And it feels like that good idea is now reaching its full potential, because after getting my hands on it when I visited Valve last month, I haven't been this excited about a controller in a long time.
Let's run through some of the basic specs of the new Steam Controller: It uses TMR magnetic sticks to stave off stick drift and keep power consumption low. There are two trackpads on the lower part of the gamepad, which can be customized through Steam Input. You get four programmable back buttons on the handles, gyroscopic motion controls, HD haptics, and capacitive touch sensors on each handle to detect whether or not you're gripping the controller. And it uses a 2.4GHz connection protocol through its charging pod for low-latency input (and those new Steam Machines have that connectivity built in). Despite all of these sophisticated technologies packed into the controller, Valve is claiming around 35 hours of battery life from a full charge as well.
It's impressive on paper, if not for the fact that we've never seen a controller do all of these things at the same time. But as someone who's reviewed several high-end controllers at this point, fancy features don't mean much if it isn't comfortable to use – in the short time I got to use the new Steam Controller, I can say that it has nailed the ergonomics. It felt natural to hold, with contours and substantial grip where you expect them, and it remains fairly light so it doesn’t feel like you're holding onto a hulking gamepad. However, more long-term usage in the future will really test my initial impressions. Now, you're probably thinking the same thing I did when Valve first showed it to me – this thing isn't exactly pretty. But for what it may lack in aesthetics, it more than makes up for in functionality, and that's what's important for a controller after all.
I played about 30 minutes of Cyberpunk 2077, Metal Gear Solid Delta, and Silent Hill f on the new Steam Machine with the Steam Controller, and analog stick performance was as good as any major gamepad since the TMR sticks had a smooth and consistent resistance along the full range of motion. Folks who have been using an Xbox controller on PC or any gamepad with offset stick placement might be put off by the PlayStation-esque symmetrical-style sticks, but it just takes some getting used to. If anything, I like the stick placement better than the Steam Deck, which I feel are a little too high up on the device – the Steam Controller is able to bring them down in a more comfortable position while still having the trackpads in a good spot.
The shoulder bumpers are clicky, the analog triggers are smooth on the pull, and I'm a big fan of the back button design as they're placed in a natural position to hit with my middle and ring fingers – they're also easier to actuate than the back paddles on the Steam Deck. Mapping d-pad and face button actions to them in a game like Cyberpunk lets you keep your thumbs on the sticks without missing a beat. This is the kind of experience you should expect from a premium controller, and it seems Valve is getting it right.
Strangely, the more impressive demo I had was with Balatro, the poker-inspired roguelike deckbuilder. This is because it's a specific use-case for the various control styles enabled by the trackpad and gyroscopic motion, and the flexibility afforded by the Steam Controller being built specifically for PC. While the default controller mapping is fine, sometimes it's easier to navigate the interface using the trackpad with my thumb to select cards as if I have a mouse on hand (if you've played on Steam Deck, this kind of functionality will be familiar to you). You can enable the gyroscopic motion controls to act as your mouse cursor and have it only activate when the capacitive touch sensors on the handles recognize you've fully gripped the controller itself. You can swap between these control styles and tweak them SteamOS-side by hitting the Steam button on the controller and going through the menus.
On the note of the trackpads, they can also be configured in Steam Input quite easily and each pad has the ability to act as two separate buttons, like splitting left- and right-clicks. Their pressure sensitivity and haptic feedback can be tweaked as well. And the capacitive touch of the grips can also be assigned for different kinds of actions, although I didn't have the opportunity to test this specific feature to a greater extent. However, it's little things like this that make the Steam Controller stand out and give you more options for how you play games than anything else out now.
That took years of iteration starting with the first Steam controller, then adapting the best parts of the Steam Deck controls, and even integrating features unique to the Valve Index, like gestures and gyros, in a way that make sense for a PC gamepad. And now the software is there as well with SteamOS being a fuller ecosystem that can make compatibility and customization relatively simple.
While this is a controller that was designed in tandem with the Steam Machine to work seamlessly together, all its features work on any PC, of course. The tiny charging puck that easily latches onto the controller magnetically also acts as the wireless receiver for fast input rated at 8ms. It can also handle up to four Steam controllers connected to it at the same time. And it works as an iOS/Android mobile controller via Bluetooth. With the Steam Deck running SteamOS, it could be a sensible solution for those who frequently dock their handheld.
There is no price set yet, but this is a premium product that will probably demand a premium price, and we won't know until we get closer to its launch. I would like more time with it to really put it through its paces, but given the versatility of its features and execution of the basics, the new Steam Controller could be my go-to PC controller when it launches sometime in early 2026 alongside the rest of Valve's new hardware.
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