In a Steam Controller Early Review from TechyTalk that leaked ahead of schedule on Streamable, it appears we now know the price of Valve’s new Steam Controller, along with a look at the controller layout and operation. Considering that the controller has been delayed by Valve from an early 2025 release window, any news is exciting at this point in time.
What We Know
According to the short video, the reviewer mentions that “At $99, it’s not cheap, but it’s only $25 more than a PS5 controller…”. This is the first instance we’ve received of any pricing on the Steam Controller and, as the reviewer appropriately mentioned, it provides a lot for the price.
We already know the Steam Controller specs that Valve released to the public back in 2025, but the reviewer in the video specifically points out three things he thought set the controller apart.
The Steam Controller comes with four function buttons on the back of the controller. This is also available with the Steam Deck and some other controllers, so it’s not a new or revolutionary offering, but it is unusual to see on your average PC controller. This, of course, offers additional options when setting up and customizing the controller to play games.
The six-axis gyro allows the controller to be played by tilting the controller side-to-side, forward-and-back, or up-and-down. Coupled with Valve’s previous mention of Grip Sense for capacitive touch gyro, this opens up a lot of opportunity to interact with the Steam Controller (and thus the games it can play) in potentially unique and interesting ways.
Finally, the reviewer gushes about the usability of the track pads. “Within minutes of using this controller, it just feels totally natural.” Similar to the track pads on the Steam Deck, these track pads offer the ability to use them to mimic cursor movements for games that would otherwise require a mouse. The right trackpad controls the mouse cursor, and the left one provides a scroll function. While not as fast and accurate as a traditional mouse, it is an excellent option for those looking to play non-competitive games and navigate their PC with a controller.
Coming Soon?
This type of leak has a lot of us excited that the Steam Controller might become available for order to the general public soon. Valve had delayed the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame to sometime in late 2026, due to the increasing price of components affecting multiple industries worldwide, so it’s nice to see that we could be getting access to these devices sooner than expected.
It’s also nice to see that Valve hopefully isn’t going to break the bank with these devices.
