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| The new Steam Controller. (Photo from Valve, Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
Serving as the successor of the infamous first-gen Steam Controller, this one aims to redeem itself with the roots of the Steam Deck as its DNA
Valve has announced its newest generation of the Steam Controller, designed to take on the desktop couch-leaning gamer's needs, on a more familiar, friendlier, and bespoke form factor. Molded after the likes of the Steam Deck, the company's most successful handheld gaming PC to date, this brings a more different approach in defining how games are meant to be played when desktop controls, and other features are in the equation, in addition to your essential controller layout.
Dubbed as the Steam Deck's "pro controller", this is Valve's way to redeem itself from the mishaps that they have made with their earliest iteration of the Steam Controller, which lacked a secondary analog stick and relied more with touchpads; leading the grotesquely-crafted controller to its inevitable demise in the landscape, as more gamers grew a preference for conventional yet practical controller layouts from either Xbox from Microsoft, PlayStation from Sony, or other third-party vendors.
The Steam Controller will debut in both online and physical storefronts with a USD$99 (~6,074 PHP) introductory price tag.
Don't let its bespoke looks baffle you, as each diameter of its physical structure do serve its own purpose, with even more features tucked inside the controller that makes it worth its price point, and appearance.
What's inside the engine handle?
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| Steam Controller's face buttons in emphasis. (Screengrab from Valve) |
The next-generation Steam Controller comes with your usual controller layout, complete with the essential XYAB buttons, menu buttons, analog triggers, D-pad, Quick Access menu and the Steam home button in the middle (which are both featured on the Steam Deck), gleaming in emphasis as it turns itself on with the LED indicator, letting the play know that it's ready for action.
Aside from these, it packs some new features that sets itself apart to stand out amongst other similar controllers, which redefines how games can be enjoyed further.
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| Hall Effect joystick module of the Steam Controller. (Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
With robustness and durability in mind, the Steam controller features Hall Effect thumbsticks (also known as TMR thumbsticks) which utilizes magnetic fields instead of traditional contact potentiometers, allowing gamers to engage themselves in continuous, fast-paced play sessions with utmost accuracy, without having to worry about either the sticks suffering from prolonged wear and tear, causing it to drift.
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| From left to right: Steam Controller connecting wirelessly thru the charging puck (left), and the Steam Controller charging by snapping the charging puck close to the controller (right). (Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
One more thing that makes the controller experience convenient, while keeping its striking appearance prominent is the introduction of the included charging puck. The puck is connected thru a USB type C port on both ends, which allows the controller to either connect to it wirelessly using 2.4GHz low-latency RF, and by adhering both the puck and the controller using magnets; emitting an audible snap that signals successful connection between the charging pin from the puck, to the contact pins underneath the controller, commencing the charging process.
Alternatively, you can also connect the controller wirelessly using Bluetooth, or charge the controller directly through wired USB C by attaching the peripheral directly to a compatible power brick. Connecting the controller directly to a compatible device through wired USB-C will also work while charging the device in the process.
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| Back buttons of the Steam Controller, with R4, R5 in emphasis. (Screengrab from Valve) |
The controller also comes with four back buttons labeled as L4, L5 for the left side, and R4, R5 for the right side; which also is freely mappable to a key combination of choice using the Steam Input menu.
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| Steam Controller with Touchpad in emphasis. (Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
It is positioned below where your thumbs would normally rests when on idle, so the moment that you'd like to quickly do that quick maneuver on a game, it only takes less effort for your thumbs to transition from either the face buttons or the joystick, to one of its touchpads, without having to strain your hand from reaching in the process.
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| Steam Controller, featuring its "Grip Sense" gyroscopic control mechanism. (Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
With the second iteration of the Steam Controller, this launch introduces its own take on gyro controls, called "Grip Sense". This mechanism allows for the transmission of input based on where you physically tilt your controller, finding its use for racing/aviation games, or select FPS games which supports processing such input. However, they came up with a much different approach as to how you can enjoy games with gyro on a more extensive way. Once you hold either or both of the capacitive grips at the lower side, it sends an input of it being pressed as if it's a button, thus enabling you to control the game using gyro. Gyro control stops once you stop on holding the grips.
Aside from that, both capacitive Grip Sense areas are mappable using Steam Input, so you can better take advantage of certain games that you feel would greatly benefit from it.
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| Visual illustration of the Steam Controller's High Definition rumble. (Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
Whilst firmly holding the grips on either side of the controller, you would feel haptics that is as clear as it is, down to the subtle minuscule effects when you interact with something in game. This is possible due to the Steam Controller's High Definition rumble packed inside the peripheral. Made possible by its powerful motors, it is capable of reproducing the most intricate physical vibrations that remains true to the exact experience as to what the game intends.
Steam-over-steam, what's the difference?
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| From left to right: Side-by-side comparison of the first-generation Steam Controller from 2015 (left), and the second-generation Steam Controller from 2026 (right). (Illustration by Staven Geoff Kho, Tekku Philippines) |
Valve made the original Steam Controller with an aim to redefine how games were meant to be enjoyed on PC games on their terms. Releasing this to the community more than a decade ago, this sought to revolutionize the landscape by striding away from the conventionalist form of game controllers, making it appear as "esoteric" as it gets. However, as time went by, the controller was eventually getting shunned by the gaming community, saying it is not just a waste of potential, but is also a "waste of money".
The outcry shined itself more than the expected gleam of the controller until Valve itself ought to bury it down for good. Gamers cited that the controller's lack of a secondary physical joystick, its unusual face button placement, and its touchpad-centered design made it cumbersome to use on select games, or making the experience more difficult than expected as the layout did not match well with fast-paced games, where precision is crucial over everything.
As of the time of writing, you can still use and connect the original Steam Controller to PC, but you may encounter some issues when you try and connect it to Steam Input on a newer version of Steam.
As Valve's way to redeem itself from the mishap, they have been on the works to correct what they have made wrong from the first edition of the controller, thus making it look less "rebellious" to players. With the unprecedented success of the Steam Deck, their first-ever take in the handheld PC landscape, they have decided to draw in inspiration from the already-established controller configuration of the product, making the entire interface more familiar for the game connoisseur, and intuitive for the everyday casual gamer.
Steam Controller-certified devices
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| Steam Deck being controlled by two players handling the new Steam Controller. (Screengrab from Valve) |
The Steam Controller is tested to work well (or partly) on the following devices:
- Steam Deck (both on SteamOS & Windows 11)
- Steam Machine (Upcoming)
- Steam Frame (Upcoming)
- Windows 10/11 PC with Steam installed
- Linux with Steam installed
- MacOS with Steam Installed
- Android, iOS/iPadOS through the Steam Link app (may not work perfectly out of the box)
Controller Specifications
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| Angular view of the Steam Controller. (Screengrab from Valve) |
| Category | Feature | Details/Specifications |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Gamepad Controls | A/B/X/Y, D-pad, L/R Triggers/Bumpers, View/Menu/Steam/QAM, 4x Grip buttons |
| Analog | Thumbsticks | 2x full-size magnetic (TMR) with capacitive touch |
| Haptics | Motors | 4x total: 2x LRA (trackpads) for HD tactile, 2x High-output LRA (grips) for rumble |
| Trackpads | Precision Input | 2x 34.5mm square, pressure-sensitive with haptic feedback |
| Sensing | Motion & Touch | 6-axis IMU (Gyro) and 2x capacitive Grip Sense areas |
| Wireless | SC Puck / BT | 2.4GHz (~8ms latency, 4ms polling), Bluetooth 4.2+ (5.0 recommended) |
| USB | Wired/Charging | USB-C tethered play and USB-C puck interface |
| Power | Battery | 8.39 Wh Li-ion, 35+ hours of gameplay (varies with Steam Frame) |
| Size | Dimensions | Controller: 111x159x57mm | Puck: 50x28x9mm |
| Weight | Mass | Controller: 292 g | Puck: 16 g |
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