On Monday, Valve opened up preorders to the big old online world for everyone to hopefully get their hands on the new Steam Controller. This new, inexpensive, and advanced controller hit the ground running with many excited to finally preorder the first of a new line of Valve hardware. That is, until the usual “new shiny item that people are excited about” scenario gets attacked by the usual suspects (otherwise known as scalpers). If you were like me and hoped to get your hands on one, you may have a new window of opportunity starting later today!
In a statement from Valve on Tuesday, they admitted that the controller’s initial run sold out faster than they expected and hated that many customers went without a preorder. That is, despite everyone on eBay having multitudes of listings to take advantage of those who didn’t. They said they would look into a proper solution, and it’s the best one that many (including me) could hope for. Here is what they have planned to let you reserve a Steam Controller if you were unlucky on Monday!
Details on the Reservations for the Steam Controller
On May 8th, at 10 am PT, they will be rolling out the ability to reserve the controller. This will allow you to reserve a place in line to receive an email to buy one of your very own. In their official news post here, you will need to understand the following when you go to reserve your Steam Controller:
- Reservations will be limited to one Steam Controller per user.
- Once you receive an order email, you have three days (72 hours) to make your purchase on Steam.
- For now, customers who have already purchased a Steam Controller are not yet eligible to reserve another Steam Controller.
- Your account must be in good standing on Steam
- You must have made a purchase on Steam prior to April 27, 2026
These are very pro-consumer measures, but leave the very obvious question in the air: “Why weren’t these measures in place on day one?” It is very confusing to leave customer frustrations up to random chance with the way they opened up preorders. But having these measures in place is a great way to rectify those problems. I can only hope they implement the same measures for the launch of the Steam Machine when it opens for preorders.
