Steam Controller leak puts Valve's new pad at $99, with no launch date yet

$99 is in the leak, not in a Valve announcement

A briefly published review put the new Steam Controller at $99, and that single number became the whole conversation on April 25. The VICE report says a review video went live early, showed the controller on camera, and was pulled almost immediately. Valve still has not posted an official store page or release date for the device, so the price remains an attributed leak rather than confirmed retail guidance. Even so, the figure is specific enough to reset expectations around a product many PC players assumed would land much closer to the first controller's price.

The early review pointed to familiar strengths and a few hardware complaints

According to the same report, the reviewer liked the trackpad-forward design and device connectivity, including how naturally the pad fit into Steam Deck style use. The complaints were more concrete than vague first impressions. The rechargeable battery was reportedly not easy to swap, and the shell used a rough plastic finish that could feel slippery with dry hands. That matters because a $99 controller is no longer competing with budget PC pads. It is being measured against premium first-party hardware from Sony and Microsoft.

No release date yet, but an embargo slip usually means launch timing is close

The leak does not answer the bigger question, which is when Valve plans to ship the controller. VICE notes that reviews appearing this early usually signal that launch planning is already underway. That is still an inference, not a promise, and the company has not attached a date to the device. For now, the most concrete facts are the reported price and the feature trade-offs visible in the review footage.

Reddit split between premium-controller logic and price fatigue

The r/pcgaming thread sat at 1,435 points and 631 comments at crawl time. One camp argued that $99 is normal for a high-end controller in 2026. The other camp focused on value. If the battery is not easily swappable and the grip material feels cheap, then the pad needs to prove a lot more before it earns premium pricing. Several top replies zeroed in on d-pad quality and on whether Valve is asking too much from users who still remember buying the original Steam Controller at a much lower price.

Source: VICE report · Reddit discussion