Valve’s New Steam Controller Is $99 According to a Leaked Review — And Gamers Have Opinions

Valve can’t catch a break with leaks lately — and honestly, neither can the rest of the gaming industry this week. Just days after Star Wars: Galactic Racer had its release date accidentally posted on Steam, it’s Valve’s turn. YouTuber Techy Talk apparently uploaded a full review of the new Steam Controller before the embargo lifted, and while the video was scrubbed within minutes, the internet being the internet, screenshots and a re-upload hit Reddit almost instantly. The headline number: $99.

That price is generating a very predictable but genuinely interesting debate about what a controller is actually worth in 2026, and whether Valve’s shot at re-entering the controller market is going to land or faceplant.

How the Leak Happened

On April 24, Reddit’s r/GamingLeaksAndRumours spotted a video titled “Valve did it again — Steam Controller Review” uploaded to the Techy Talk YouTube channel. The video was comprehensive — covering the hardware design, features, how the trackpads handle both gaming and general PC navigation, and the full spec sheet — which is exactly what makes this look like a legitimate embargo break rather than a fake. You don’t put that kind of depth into a fabricated leak.

The video was gone within minutes, but a Redditor downloaded and re-uploaded it to a third-party streaming site before it disappeared, and screenshots of the key details (including the price) spread across gaming forums almost immediately. The price shown in the review is $99 in the US — some sources round it to $100, others specify $99.99. Either way, it’s sitting right at that psychological threshold that makes people wince.

Techy Talk hasn’t commented publicly on what happened. The most obvious read is a standard embargo slip — the review was scheduled to go live in the coming days or weeks and someone accidentally hit publish early. Given that Valve has reportedly been getting closer to a formal announcement on the Steam Controller’s release date and pricing, the timing fits perfectly.

What the Review Actually Said About the Controller

Techy Talk’s review was reportedly glowing overall, which is worth noting before diving into the price discourse. The reviewer’s core conclusion was that no single controller is perfect for every use case, but for anyone who wants one device that can handle both gaming and general PC navigation competently, the Steam Controller makes a very strong case.

The hardware breakdown from the leaked review includes dual trackpads (the right one functioning as a cursor by default, the left as a scroll pad), magnetic TMR thumbsticks, HD rumble, gyroscope support, back buttons, and back touch sensors. The trackpads were singled out as the standout feature by a considerable margin — which makes sense given that was the defining characteristic of the original Steam Controller too.

What it doesn’t have: an audio jack, a microphone, and trigger-force feedback. The lack of an audio jack in particular has been one of the most-cited criticisms in the community response, and it’s a meaningful omission at the $99 price point.

new steam controller

Why $99 Is Contentious

Here’s the thing — whether $99 is reasonable depends almost entirely on which other controller you’re using as your reference point.

If you’re comparing to a standard PS5 DualSense ($74.99) or a standard Xbox Wireless Controller ($64.99), the Steam Controller is $25 to $35 more expensive for a controller that doesn’t have trigger haptics, no audio jack, and hasn’t shipped yet so you can’t verify performance claims in person. That framing makes the $99 look steep, and it’s why the Reddit response has skewed negative.

If you’re comparing to the premium end — the DualSense Edge ($199.99) or the Xbox Elite Series 2 ($179.99) — the Steam Controller suddenly looks like a relative bargain for a controller with niche-specific features that neither of those offer. The trackpads in particular have no real equivalent in the standard controller market. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller at $89.99 is probably the closest direct price competitor in terms of positioning.

The community consensus from the original Steam Controller fanbase seems to be that $80 was the expected sweet spot and would have been an easy buy. At $99, it becomes a “wait and see” or “wait for a sale” purchase for a lot of people who were previously excited. One Reddit user who loved the original $50 Steam Controller put it simply: “Was willing to spend $80 on impulse but now I’ll wait until my Elite controller fails in some way.”

The Bigger Context: Steam Machine and Hardware Delays

The Steam Controller doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it’s part of a broader Valve hardware ecosystem that includes the Steam Machine (Valve’s Linux-based gaming PC) and the Frame VR headset. All three were originally announced in November 2025 and initially planned for a March 2026 release.

That date came and went with nothing to show for it. The culprit, according to Insider Gaming sourcing, is the ongoing component shortage — specifically the AI-driven RAM crisis that has sent DDR5 memory prices spiking to levels that make the Steam Machine genuinely difficult to price competitively. Valve has been internally debating whether to take a loss on hardware costs in the short term, similar to how Sony and Nintendo approach console pricing, or to pass those costs on to consumers. That decision, per the same sourcing, hasn’t been finalized.

What makes the Steam Controller’s situation slightly different is that it’s not affected by the RAM shortage — it’s a peripheral, not a full PC. That’s led to speculation that Valve may release the Controller before the Steam Machine and Frame VR, essentially getting at least one piece of the hardware ecosystem into people’s hands while the bigger products sort out their pricing and availability issues. Recent SteamDB data dumps have apparently hinted at an imminent Controller launch as well, separate from the Machine’s release timeline.

Importantly, Valve has repeatedly said it won’t subsidize the Steam Machine the way traditional console makers do — meaning consumers will pay something closer to actual component cost. If that philosophy carries over to the Controller at $99, it might be the honest price for what you’re getting. But it’s also a harder sell in a market where Xbox and PlayStation have been aggressively pricing their standard pads as loss leaders.

Is $99 Worth It for a Steam Controller?

That depends entirely on how you game. If you primarily play PC titles that benefit from mouse-like precision — strategy games, grand strategy, city builders, MOBAs, anything that’s traditionally awkward on a controller — the Steam Controller’s dual trackpad setup is genuinely compelling and has no direct competition. The original Steam Controller built a loyal following precisely because it solved the problem of playing mouse-dependent games from the couch, and this version sounds significantly more refined.

If you mostly play controller-native games — action, platformers, racing, fighting — you’re probably better served by a DualSense or Xbox controller at a lower price, which you already know the quality of.

The no-audio-jack decision is the one that’s hardest to defend at $99. That’s a feature that cheap third-party controllers include, and its absence is going to be a dealbreaker for anyone who relies on a controller-connected headset. Valve would presumably say the trackpads more than offset the omission, but that’s going to be a personal calculation for each buyer.

For anyone currently trying to keep gaming costs manageable — and there’s a lot of hardware competing for wallet space right now — it’s worth keeping in mind that the Xbox Game Pass EA Play trick is still one of the better subscription value plays available. And while hardware pricing debates are running hot, the PlayStation DRM situation is still unresolved, adding another layer of uncertainty to the overall digital-vs-physical cost conversation. Meanwhile, Assassin’s Creed Hexe’s development drama continues in the background if you need a reason to think about future gaming purchases rather than current hardware.

Valve’s formal announcement — which seems imminent given the leak — will tell us whether $99 is the real number and when we can actually buy it. Until then, the controller community has opinions, and it is not quiet about them.