If you missed the roughly 30-minute window when Valve’s new Steam Controller was available for sale before quickly selling out, good news: Valve is preparing a new round of pre-orders for its new $99 PC gamepad, as promised.
Valve announced on Thursday that it will open reservations for the Steam Controller starting Friday, May 8. This time, Valve says it is aiming “to improve the purchase experience and to limit reseller activity.” The company says it will continue to replenish stock as it receives more Steam Controllers from the manufacturer. But for now, getting one of Valve’s hot new controllers will bring with it more restrictions.
How to pre-order the Steam Controller
Valve says it will open a new round of orders for the Steam Controller on May 8 at 10 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. EDT. This time, there will be a reservation queue. Customers will be able to reserve a place in line, and have their order fulfilled when Valve has available stock.
Customers who successfully register for a controller will receive an email from Valve when their unit becomes available. Upon receiving that email, buyers will have 72 hours to make their purchase on Steam.
Valve is limiting orders to one Steam Controller per customer. Customers who have already purchased one will not be eligible to reserve another. Valve also warns that Steam Controller buyers will need to have a Steam account “in good standing” and will need to have made a purchase on Steam prior to April 27, 2026. Valve enacted a similar policy when opened pre-orders for the Steam Deck in 2021.
Valve says that inventory will be replenished on a region-by-region basis, starting with reservations next week in the U.S. and Canada, and in the U.K., Europe, and Australia in the ensuing weeks.
While the Steam Controller sellout situation may be frustrating for some, it offers some insight into how things might go down for the release of the new Steam Machine. Hopefully, Valve will put pre-order restrictions in place for its forthcoming hardware too, after learning a lesson from the Steam Controller.
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