Microsoft · Donald Trump · The Verge
Some people won’t need any more convincing than that to buy one when orders open May 4th for $99
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◌ Single Source
The official Steam Machine gamepad is here, and it works great on PC and Deck.
Key facts
- The new Steam Controller isn’t necessarily a direct competitor to “pro” controllers like Sony’s $199 DualSense Edge, the $200 Xbox Elite Series 2, or Razer’s $229 Kaiju V3 Pro
- You can still have a good time by connecting the gyro-equipped Sony DualSense or an 8BitDo Ultimate 2 over Bluetooth to a Steam Deck, a PC, or to the upcoming Steam Machine
- Some people won’t need any more convincing than that to buy one when orders open May 4th for $99
- But Valve nevertheless improved upon its misunderstood predecessor with a 2026 model that has features you can’t find anywhere else
Summary
Most PC gamers already have a controller they love using with Steam, a Sony DualSense, a 8BitDo Ultimate, a Nintendo Switch Pro, or something else. With Steam Input, any of those controllers can have multiple control schemes for different game scenarios (flight, on-foot, in menus), and you swap between them with a button press. That’s why the idea of a new physical Steam Controller doesn’t hit the same way it used to. The reporter appreciate the small hardware refinements over the Steam Deck. Some people won’t need any more convincing than that to buy one when orders open May 4th for $99.