Valve will finally separate the releases of its new devices, with the Steam Controller to lead the way.
When, last November, Valve announced the " forthcoming release " of a mini-PC, a virtual reality headset and a new game controller, many were surprised by the American company's timing. Virtual reality isn't exactly the hottest thing, the first Steam Controller wasn't a great success, and mini-PCs are suffering badly as double inflation affects DRAM chips (used for RAM) and NAND chips (used for SSDs).
Valve's Steam Controller will be here before the Steam Machine © Valve
Valve is not in the habit of relying too much on its often facile critics, and the launch of its Steam platform is the most eloquent example of this: few people believed in such a dematerialized gaming solution back in 2003. At a time when the price of DDR5 memory sticks and SSDs continues to climb, Valve has continued to assert that its mini-PC, dubbed the Steam Machine, will be released in the first half of 2026, just like the Steam Frame and Steam Controller. Perhaps a little too automatically, many observers - and we were among the first - thought that the three devices would be released more or less together: the Steam Machine/Steam Controller association seems so logical.
Valve launches its new controller on May 4 © Valve
But that's not to be. Recent rumors suggested that the Steam Controller was just around the corner: they were right, but the controller will not be accompanied - at least not immediately - by the Steam Machine. The Steam Controller now has its own comprehensive official page, on which we can read that Valve intends to start marketing it on May 4, and that it will cost exactly 99 euros for interested gamers. Note, however, that there's no mention of pre-orders, and that ordering itself is not yet possible: the clickable button still reads " coming soon ". Nevertheless, it's a safe bet that Valve will soon be talking about the Steam Machine.
