The original Steam Controller launched in 2015 and divided opinion sharply. Its dual trackpad design replaced the standard analog sticks most players were used to. That made it powerful for mouse-driven PC games but alienating for almost everything else. Valve discontinued it in 2019 after selling over two million units, leaving behind a loyal community of users who appreciated its unusual approach and a much larger group who never got comfortable with it.
The new Steam Controller arrived on May 4, 2026 at $99. It is a significant redesign rather than a refresh. This time Valve chose to be conventional where the original was unconventional, while keeping the trackpads and software depth that made the first one worth using.
What Valve Announced and When
Valve revealed the new Steam Controller in November 2025 alongside two other pieces of hardware. The Steam Machine is a compact living room gaming PC. The Steam Frame is a wireless VR headset. The plan was to launch all three together in early 2026.
A global RAM shortage delayed the Steam Machine. The controller, which is not affected by memory shortages in the same way, moved ahead. It went on sale through Steam on May 4, 2026. The Steam Machine and Steam Frame are still expected later in 2026.
At $99, the controller sits above the PlayStation 5 DualSense at around $75 and the Xbox Wireless Controller at around $60. Whether that premium is worth it depends on what you are looking for.
The Design: Conventional This Time
The most immediate change from the original is the layout. The new Steam Controller looks like a proper gamepad.
Two analog thumbsticks sit in conventional positions. The left stick is on the upper left, the right stick on the lower right, mirroring the DualSense layout. This single change removes the biggest barrier to adoption that the original had. Most people could never adapt to its left trackpad sitting where they expected a thumbstick.
The trackpads are still present but smaller, square in shape, and repositioned below the thumbsticks. If you have used a Steam Deck the trackpads will feel familiar, though on the new controller they angle slightly inward for more comfortable thumb contact.
The face buttons are the standard A, B, X, and Y layout. A D-pad, two analog triggers, two bumpers, a Steam button, and a Quick Access Menu button complete the front. Four assignable grip buttons sit on the rear, reachable without removing your thumbs from the sticks. All four are freely configurable through Steam's controller software.
TechRadar's hands-on review called it a massive improvement over the original, naming it one of the reviewer's favourite gamepads since the Sega era. The accessible layout was the primary reason.
What Is Inside
TMR Thumbsticks
The thumbsticks use Tunneling Magnetoresistance technology, which Valve calls TMR. Most conventional controllers use potentiometer-based sensors that rely on physical contact between components. That contact wears over time, which is the root cause of stick drift on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo controllers.
TMR sensors use magnetic fields instead of physical contact. There is nothing to wear down. The sticks should remain accurate through the same amount of use that would produce noticeable drift in a conventional controller. This is a genuine engineering improvement, not a marketing claim, and the same approach other premium controllers have started adopting.
Dual Trackpads With Haptics
The trackpads are capacitive surfaces that detect position, pressure, and movement without requiring physical clicks. Each trackpad has its own vibration motor, providing haptic feedback that can simulate different textures or give tactile confirmation when you press past a threshold.
For games designed around a keyboard and mouse, the trackpads allow cursor precision that analog sticks simply cannot replicate. This was Valve's core idea in 2015. It was correct then and remains correct now. The new design just makes it far more accessible.
Gyroscope and Grip Sense
A six-axis gyroscope enables motion controls. Tilting or rotating the controller moves the camera or aim in games that support it. Many players find this more precise than a stick for fine adjustments in shooters.
Grip Sense is new. When you touch the back of the controller or rest your thumb on a stick, Grip Sense detects the contact and can automatically activate the gyroscope. There is no separate button to press. Pick up the controller, rest your thumb on the trackpad, and the gyro activates on its own. You can configure exactly what Grip Sense triggers, or reassign it to a different function entirely.
Four Vibration Motors
Most controllers have two vibration motors. The Steam Controller has four. Two sit in the trackpads and two in the grips. This allows more precise and localised haptic feedback. A trackpad motor can simulate scrolling through a list. A grip motor can rumble on one side only to reflect something happening on that side of the game world. How well this works in practice depends on each game's use of Steam Input.
Battery and Connectivity
Valve quotes over 35 hours of battery life under standard conditions. This drops when paired with the Steam Frame VR headset, which draws additional power through the controller connection.
Three connection options are available. The primary method is the Steam Controller Puck, a USB dongle included in the box. The controller attaches magnetically to the Puck for charging. The Puck uses a proprietary low-latency wireless connection that Valve says outperforms Bluetooth for input-sensitive use. USB-C cable is the second option for wired play. Bluetooth is a third option but reviewers consistently recommend the Puck for the best experience.
Compatibility
The new Steam Controller works with any device running Steam or the Steam Link app. This includes Windows PCs, macOS, Linux, the Steam Deck, tablets, and smartphones. It pairs directly with Steam Machine hardware and can remotely wake the system.
Because the controller shares its input structure with the Steam Deck, thousands of community control profiles transfer directly. You are not starting from scratch when looking for a control setup for a game not designed for a gamepad.
Steam Input handles all configuration. Button remapping, trackpad behaviour, gyro sensitivity, grip button assignments, and haptic intensity are all adjustable through the same interface Steam Deck users already know.
Who It Is Actually For
The Steam Controller is the right choice for a specific type of PC gamer.
If you primarily play games designed for a conventional gamepad, an Xbox Wireless Controller or DualSense at a lower price does the job well and works more broadly outside of Steam. The Steam Controller's advantages are concentrated in Steam's ecosystem.
The compelling use case is playing mouse-and-keyboard games from a couch. Strategy games, city builders, simulation titles, and shooters built around keyboard and mouse become genuinely playable from a sofa when the trackpads provide cursor precision that analog sticks cannot. This was the original Steam Controller's promise in 2015. The new one delivers it in a design that is far easier to pick up and use from day one.
At $99, it costs more than the alternatives. The extra cost covers the trackpads, TMR sticks, four haptic motors, and Steam integration depth that no third-party controller matches. Whether those features justify the premium depends entirely on how you actually play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the new Steam Controller work with non-Steam games?
Yes, through Steam Input. You can add non-Steam games to your Steam library and configure the controller using the same mapping tools. For games with native Steam integration, the full feature set including gyro, trackpad, and haptic configuration is available. Games running entirely outside Steam may need the controller configured to emulate a standard gamepad input, which Steam Input also handles.
How does it compare to the original Steam Controller?
The new controller is significantly more accessible. The original placed trackpads where most players expected thumbsticks, which created a layout many never overcame. The new design places thumbsticks conventionally and adds trackpads as supplementary inputs rather than primary ones. The new controller also has better sticks, four haptic motors instead of two, and Grip Sense, which the original did not have.
Can I use it with a PlayStation or Xbox console?
The Steam Controller is designed for the Steam ecosystem. It is not officially supported as a native input device on PlayStation or Xbox consoles. It works broadly on PC through Steam Input and on platforms that accept a generic Bluetooth controller, but its Steam-specific features require a Steam connection to function.
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