Valve's New Steam Controller Gets a Hands-On Review
The review gives the first detailed look at how the 2026 Steam Controller works in practice, confirming its improved trackpad haptics and magnetic stick while noting the controller's high demand and limited availability.
Reporting from 1 sources: Game Spark.
Game Spark published a detailed hands-on review of the newly revived Steam Controller, covering its unboxing, trackpad and gyro performance, and comparisons to other controllers including the Xbox Wireless Controller and DualSense.
The new Steam Controller, released May 5 and re-released May 19, has been so hard to buy that Valve's website buckled under demand. Game Spark got one and put it through a full test. The reviewer praises the trackpad's haptic feedback, which delivers a crackling sensation during operation and a click when pressed, driven by two dedicated motors separate from the normal vibration system. The magnetic thumbstick uses TMR technology and a capacitive touch sensor that can trigger gyro control only when the thumb is on the stick. The controller weighs 294 grams, slightly more than the Xbox Wireless Controller with batteries or the DualSense. The included Steam Controller Puck magnetically attaches for wired charging and doubles as a wireless receiver. The review also confirms the viral Easter egg: the controller screams when dropped, but the sound comes from converting haptic motor vibration into audio, not from a speaker.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.