When Valve finally loosed the new Steam Controller on the world this past Monday (May 4) stock disappeared within 30 minutes and reportedly broke Steam. At the time of writing, it’s currently sold out everywhere except for scalper listings on eBay where some greedy pockets are demanding up to three times the $99 price tag.
Today (May 7), Valve announced a new plan to help more gamers get their paws on a Steam Controller. The company also acknowledged that the “experience” of trying to buy it was “incredibly frustrating.”
“We plan to continue replenishing stock as we get more in, but in the meantime wanted to share changes we’re making to improve the purchase experience and to limit reseller activity,” the Valve announcement says.
Starting on Friday (May 8) at 10 am PT/1 pm ET/6 pm BST, Valve is opening a reservation queue for the Steam Controller. Initially, the queue will only be available in US and Canada with the UK, EU and Australia in the following weeks.
Adding yourself to the queue puts you in line. When stock is available and it’s your spot, you will have 72 hours to buy the controller. Order emails will be sent to your associated account.
There are some stipulations.
Valve says that anyone who has already purchased a Steam Controller is ineligible to reserve another one. The company did not specify how long that will last.
Additionally, your account must be in good standing on Steam and you need to have made a purchase on Steam prior to April 27, 2026.
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