【AI前沿】Valve Steam Controller Review (2026): Wait for the Steam Machine

Matt KamenGearMay 22, 2026 6:30 AMReview: Valve Steam Controller (2026)Without the context of Valve’s Steam Machine (which is still MIA), this controller can’t fully dazzle players yet.Photograph: Matt Kamen$99at SteamCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyRating:7/10Open rating explainerInformationWIREDFantastic build quality. Incredibly accurate TMR thumbsticks. Highly customizable inputs. Included puck is a marvel for charging and connectivity.TIREDCan’t use with PC games outside of Steam. Gyroscope tricky to properly calibrate. Thumbsticks sit slightly too high. Can’t really shine until Steam Machine hardware arrives.A decade onfrom the originalSteam Controller, Valve is back with a modern update, ditching the unwieldy dimensions, splayed grips, and odd trackpads, instead adopting a much more conventional design approach—and some slightlydifferenttrackpads.This second-generation Steam Controller arrives at an odd time, though. The new joypad is part of Valve’s renewed push into the hardware space, meant to be used alongside theconsole-like Steam Machine gaming PC—itselfanother revamped forayinto the field—and the Steam Frame, the company’s new VR headset. Except both of those are delayed, largely because the AI bubble issucking up RAM, GPUs, and CPUswith the gravitational pull of a black hole. At the time of writing, neither of Valve’s other projects has a release date or confirmed price.However, gamepads don’t typically need RAM, GPUs, or CPUs, making the new Steam Controller pretty much the only piece of hardware Valvecanrelease for the time being, and for a relatively reasonable price. The Steam Controller arrives divorced from its intended context, making some of its more impressive aspects hard to appreciate.All Decked OutPhotograph: Matt KamenThe new Steam Controllerispretty impressive. It boasts a ridiculous number of inputs and features, is almost overwhelmingly customizable to ensure compatibility with just about any game on Steam, and, barring one small caveat, is rather comfortable to use.In terms of inputs, it takes almost every control method from the Steam Deck, short of the touchscreen, and crams it into an 11 x 16 x 6 cm design. Valve tries to have it both ways when it comes to the more familiar controls, using Xbox’s ABXY face buttons and broad design aesthetic but PlayStation’s symmetrical thumbstick layout, plus the twin shoulder buttons and pair of analog triggers. Players accustomed to either will soon adapt to this hybrid approach.The Steam Controller goes beyond either of its console cousins, though, with a whole fleet of inputs that neither Sony nor Microsoft has on their default pads. A quadrant of extra buttons sits on the underside of the grip, and the thumbsticks are clickable, feature capacitive touch sensors, and are built on tunnel magnetoresistance sensors (TMR), which offer even greater precision and durability thanHall effect systems.Photograph: Matt KamenThere is also an accelerometer and a gyroscope for motion controls, and advanced rumble engines for nuanced haptics—it can pull off the same audio tricks that theNintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con 2s do, vibrating at such high frequencies that the pad itself becomes an ersatz speaker, allowing for fun Easter eggs like a hiddenWilhelm Scream. Most striking are the same trackpads from the Steam Deck on the bottom half of the controller, allowing for mouse-like controls.Despite cramming all this in, it weighs a mere 292 grams. It rarely feels burdensome, even after longer play sessions. However, I did have to adjust my grip slightly to comfortably reach the thumbsticks, as so much real estate is given over to accommodating the trackpads, which live where my thumbs naturally want to sit. The D-pad isn’t anything to write home about either—entirely adequate, but lacking clean edges and suffering from a glossy finish that robs it of grip. Aside from that cheap-feeling D-pad, the Steam Controller’s build quality is exceptional.Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I’m disproportionately impressed by the adorable “puck” that the controller connects to your computer with. Attaching via the included USB-C to USB-A cable, it serves as both a wireless dongle and a micro charging dock, magnetically clipping onto the rear of the Steam Controller. Installation and setup were easy. Just press the Steam button in the center of the pad, and it communicates wirelessly through the puck with no discernible latency and no extra software or drivers required.Photograph: Matt KamenOnce connected and turned on, a second press of the Steam button shifts everything to Big Picture mode, Steam’s console-like interface that allows for clearer navigation of your game library. The Steam client will already need to be open on your system for this—pressing the icon button won’t act as a launcher, though I suspect it might send a wake signal to the Steam Machine whenever it arrives. There doesn’t appear to be any major changes to Big