Valve officially announces Steam Controller with quick start guide

After a leak of the Steam Controller price point forced Valve into a rather odd position, we have now received confirmation about the controller, its price, and even a video that goes over what’s in the box and how to get started with it. The stylish controller doesn’t look to difffer much from what we already know of the Steam Deck, with six face buttons, two analog sticks, a D-Pad, two thumbpads, a Steam Big Picture button, what appears to be a home button, four trigger buttons, and four additional buttons along the back.

The controller will also come with a wireless adapter, charging puck, and cable for easy connection to any PC. It does appear that the charging puck needs to be connected to the PC for a true wireless experience, though it can be connected to the back of the controller to play while charging.

Alongside this announcement comes instructions on how to connect the controller to your Steam account, suggesting that you install any and all hardware updates in advance. Players will need to update the charging puck first, followed by the controller itself.

The controller itself looks beautiful, and holds a price point of $99, which is about $20 more than the average PlayStation 5 or Xbox controller. Additionally, the thumb pads and extra buttons really allow for players to enjoy games the way they want without having to purchase an Elite controller of some kind.

The buttons are also completely customizable within Steam for even more convenience.

Valve’s Steam Controller is a step in the right direction, though its size is incredibly reminiscent to the Duke controller for the original Xbox console. Valve also revealed that there will be grip sensors that will act as additional ways for players to manage gameplay features like opening menus and the like just by moving and removing their hand from the controller.

The Steam Controller will arrive on Steam on May 4 and is available to wishlist now.