When Valve opened pre-orders for the Steam Controller, the company’s servers were flooded with thousands of people trying to buy one. It reached a tipping point that forced Valve to pause pre-orders and implement a reservation system.
Since then, Valve has been able to fulfill a decent number of those initial reservations, but it’s clear that demand for the Steam Controller is still high. As such, a new post was published detailing some of the reasons why many have still been unable to buy one.
In the post, Valve admits that “initial demand exceeded” expectations, and another part of the reason why the reservation system was implemented was to help the company “plan ahead and try to get as many out as quickly as we are able.” Unfortunately, if you are currently waiting for Valve to accept your reservation, you might be waiting for quite a while.
If you have an existing reservation and visit the Steam Controller page, you’ll now see one of the following “order windows”:
- By September 2026
- By December 2026
- In 2027 (with additional information on specific timing to come)
Valve will continue sending emails to those in the virtual queue, providing them with the opportunity to purchase the Steam Controller. From there, you’ll have 72 hours to buy one, or you’ll be removed from the list and will be placed at the back of the line if you sign up again.
While it’s appreciated that Valve is finally providing some type of window for your reservations, it’s also kind of wild to think about. A new controller is released, immediately sells out, a new system is implemented, and based on that information, Valve is forced to push the release out until next year.
I shudder to think what things might look like when the Steam Machine and Steam Frame are actually released. Then again, it’s not like those will cost just $99.
