Valve is preaching patience.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Steam Controllers have been effectively sold out since the moment they went on sale, and there's no sign the supply crunch is going to ease up. In fact, Valve has announced that any fresh orders for the gamepad may not be delivered until 2027, although you would hope things would ease up by then. Users who have already ordered a device can check the relevant page on Steam to learn when their order will be fulfilled. The present 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. Engadget's Jessica Conditt reviewed it back in April, and said it was a sturdy and sleek gamepad with high-end TMR thumbsticks. The only downside, really, is that it's designed specifically to work just with Steam, rather than as a generic PC gamepad, as part of Valve's quest to maintain dominance.
"Initial demand exceeded our expectations," wrote an unnamed company spokesperson after a heavy sip of understatement juice. "As we look at the current demand compared to how many we know we can make by the end of the year, we cant to manage expectations as much as we can," they added. Of course, the same statement does say that the company will try to get as many devices out as it is able to achieve. But it's worth bearing these delays in mind given Valve is also pledging to get its Steam Machine PC/console and Steam Frame headset into people's homes this summer.
