Valve has not announced a price for its new Steam Controller. It has not announced a release date either. What appears to have happened is that at least one apparent review unit surfaced early, after YouTube channel Techy Talk briefly posted what looked like a full Steam Controller review.
The video was live only briefly before disappearing. It was long enough. Reddit users captured screenshots and re-uploaded a copy to a third-party streaming site before it vanished, and the number buried near the end of the video has been the only thing the Steam community has wanted to talk about since: $99.99.
Valve has not confirmed this figure. As Steam Deck HQ noted when reporting the leak, it should be taken with a grain of salt until Valve speaks officially. But with what appears to be a near-final review unit on camera and a reviewer quoting the price directly, the figure is being treated as credible across gaming forums and news outlets covering the story.
What Techy Talk’s Review Actually Said
The review, as pieced together from those who watched it before it went offline and the re-upload covered by Notebookcheck, was broadly positive about the hardware. The dual trackpads drew the most praise — by default, the right pad acts as a cursor and the left handles scrolling, which the reviewer presented as one of the Steam Controller’s strongest arguments for PC gaming on the couch.
The two headline complaints were more specific. First, the rechargeable battery is not easily swappable. Second, the surface finish: the reviewer described the controller body as rough-textured plastic that becomes slippery with dry hands, and said a soft-touch coating or rubber grip material would have been preferable at this price point.
Other notes from the review flagged by those who watched it included no audio jack, no swappable thumbstick parts or trigger-stop controls, and low-latency wireless handled through the Steam Controller Puck, which also doubles as a magnetic charger.
On the price itself, Techy Talk was direct in the now-removed video: “At $99, it’s not cheap — but it’s only $25 more than a PS5 controller and it can do so much more. And it’s still half the price of most premium controllers.”
How Reddit Reacted
The response across Reddit was immediate and split roughly along the lines of those who had been following the controller closely and those encountering the price for the first time.
The negative camp was loud. According to VICE’s coverage of the leak, one commenter put it plainly: “If it’s a hundred I’m out. I paid $50 for my original Steam Controller and loved it. Was willing to spend $80 on impulse but now I’ll wait until my Elite controller fails in some way.” Another user declared the price “way too much” after expecting a ceiling of $80. A third comment captured the gap between community expectations and reality: “Some people are going to be shocked. The Steam Machine and Steam Controller subreddits insisted it needs to be $60 or lower.”
The more measured responses acknowledged the hardware spec list. The TMR thumbsticks, four LRA haptic motors, 6-axis IMU, four rear grip buttons, 35-plus hour battery life, and three connection options represent what reviewers and community members noted as a meaningful step above what a standard $65–$75 gamepad offers. Steam Deck HQ’s own take was that the features do justify the ask, even if the price landed higher than expected. The dual trackpads — rare among mainstream standalone controllers — are the clearest argument that this is not a straight comparison to a DualSense or an Xbox Wireless Controller.
The original Steam Controller launched at $49.99 in 2015. At $99.99, the new model is exactly double that, and the doubling is what has stuck with the community more than any individual feature or complaint.
The Steam Controller Price in Context
At $99.99, the Steam Controller would sit roughly $25 above the standard DualSense MSRP and above the Xbox Wireless Controller, while landing well below premium models such as the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. That positioning — above the standard tier, below the high-end tier — is the clearest reading of where Valve appears to be aiming.
Valve has already said memory and storage shortages forced it to revisit shipping schedules and pricing, especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame, so it remains unclear whether the leaked controller price reflects component pressure, deliberate positioning, or both.
What the community reaction does make clear is that the expected ceiling was somewhere around $60–$80. The $99.99 figure is not indefensible for a controller with this specification list, but it lands noticeably above where much of the Steam community had set its expectations.
What Happens Next
Valve has not commented on the leaked review or the reported price. The video has been taken down and has not been officially acknowledged. The quick takedown suggests the video may have gone live earlier than intended.
With a review unit apparently in at least one creator’s hands and shipping records reportedly pointing to a U.S. shipmentof Valve “wireless PC controller” hardware earlier this month, an official announcement could follow soon. Whether that announcement confirms the $99.99 figure or revises it is the question the Steam community is now waiting on. We’ll update this article when Valve responds.
All pricing information in this article is based on a leaked review video reported across Reddit and gaming outlets on April 25, 2026. Valve has not officially confirmed any pricing or release date for the Steam Controller.
