It’s been a short week for the Steam Controller, huh? It launched earlier this week without a console, only for Valve and everyone else to discover that it sold out almost immediately. Technological shortage? Who could have seen this happening, even for something as simple as a controller! This then led to some naughty people flogging them on eBay for at least double the price, but worry not, intrepid buyer, because Valve has shared details on how they plan to distribute the controller in the future.
“Steam Controller launched on May 4, and while we were happy to see such a high level of interest, the experience for many of you trying to purchase it was incredibly frustrating,” Valve said in a statement. Steam blog post. “We plan to continue to replenish our inventory as we receive more, but in the meantime, we wanted to share the changes we are making to improve the shopping experience and limit reseller activity.”
These plans are to, starting May 8, 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST, open a reservation queue for the Steam controller. As soon as you enter your name, “your place in queue will be saved”. When stock arrives, those who register early will first be notified by email that they can then make the purchase, with some important limitations.
For one thing, you can only buy one controller; no more scalping for you, Mr. Scalper! Also note that upon receipt of your order email, you have 72 hours to make the purchase. You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t buy one in time (presumably nothing and you just have to join the queue again, but Valve hasn’t said that). Oh, and if you’ve already purchased a controller, you can’t purchase another one right now.
Not only that, but your account must be in good standing, and you must have made a purchase on Steam before April 27, 2026. I’m looking at you, Mr. Scalper, you thought you could fool old Valvey, huh? Finally, “inventory replenishment will vary by region. We will begin honoring reservations next week in the US/Canada and UK/EU/AU in the following weeks.”
Good luck? I guess? I don’t know what you say in such situations.
