Valve has announced that some Steam Controller buyers will not receive their orders until 2027. The company laid out its plans to meet demand for the device, with three estimated delivery periods expected for the new Steam Controller.
After tons of rumors, the Steam Controller reveal was exciting for PC gamers. Those players who made their reservations for the peripheral early are in luck, as many have already received the controller. However, the ongoing demand for the device has now led to a new announcement from Valve.
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Valve announces delay on current and future Steam Controller orders
Valve shared an announcement about Steam Controller reservations, explaining that due to extreme demand, it wants to manage expectations for arrival. Valve notes that it intends to continue manufacturing the units, but when comparing demand to how many of the units it expects to be able to produce, the company expects only a portion of the existing orders to ship in the second half of the year. Three order windows have been announced, September 2026, December 2026 and 2027, with no further details on which part of the coming year. Those who have already made a reservation can check the Steam Controller page to see which release window they've been placed in. The earlier customers reserved the controller, the earlier a window they'll be placed in. Orders placed from June 18th onwards are expected to arrive no earlier than 2027, and Valve will provide updates as it narrows down the timeline further.
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The second Steam Controller was announced a decade after the launch of the original, which was canceled back in 2019. Unfortunately, the timing of the reveal, which was made alongside that of the new Steam Machine and the first Steam Frame VR headset, arguably couldn't have come at a much worse time. Demand for previous releases from Valve, such as that from Steam Deck, was also high. However, Valve currently has to deal with the crisis that the entire gaming industry is feeling due to the proliferation of AI data centers, which require a huge array of chips and processors to keep running. As a result, all manner of gaming hardware has faced shortages and price hikes, and Valve hasn't been left unscathed by the trend.
While ardent Steam Controller fans are likely disappointed to learn of this, they're still the lucky ones when it comes to the new releases. The entire hardware line was expected to start arriving in early 2026, but due to the aforementioned demand for parts, the new Steam Machine and Steam Frame aren't even taking reservations or pre-orders yet. Valve has said that both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame will ship sometime in the summer of 2026, but that could change. The pricing of the devices has also yet to be confirmed by Valve officials, further worrying those who intended to purchase them as soon as possible.
While fans may be tired of waiting, the good news is that Valve has not announced any plans to completely discontinue the release of any of the three pieces of Steam hardware. For now, all players can do is wait and see when Valve announces further details. With any luck, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame prices aren't too outrageous, considering the high price of computer parts.
