• Experience a new level of precise control for your favorite games. The Steam Controller lets you play your entire collection of Steam games on your TV-even the ones designed without controller support in mind.
  • Features dual trackpads, HD haptic feedback, dual-stage triggers, back grip buttons, and fully-customizable control schemes. Find your favorite mappings in the Steam Community, or create and share your own.
  • Dual trackpads allow for 1:1 absolute position input via virtual controls like a trackball, adaptive centering joystick, or steering wheel
  • Dual-stage triggers can be used as analog, digital, or both types of input at the same time. Put your iron-sights on the sweep-in, and then fire with the reliable feel of a tactile switch, all on the same trigger.
  • Each of the Steam Controller's input zones and buttons has been positioned based on frequency of use, required precision, and ergonomic comfort.

When I saw the reviews and features, I preordered two of them. They got delivered the same day, and boy the box was clean and properly packaged. After drooling over the boxes, I plugged one in, without remembering to turn on Steam; it already worked as a mouse without any setup at all. I turned on Steam, and the software updated. Skip to present day, I use this thing all over. Let me tell you some crazy things you can do with this controller! * Program any button to any xbox 360, keyboard, or mouse functions (including multiple, e.g. Alt+Tab) * Program independent (horizontal / vertical) (sensitivity / axis inversion) * Select commonly used community created layouts for Steam Games (and tweak them yourself!) * Configure your controller for non-Steam games * Grab buttons (Ring Finger / Pinky Finger) * 2 Touchpads (can be mouse, joystick, anything in between, as well as DPads, WASD / other key configurations, screen area selection (e.g. minimap), hotkeys (up to a 4x4 grid, I believe), /and more/! * Standard xbox-feeling layout (left / right movement, joystick below, grips, and gyro may take some learning, and ABXY buttons are considered small by many) * Haptics! What does that mean? It means you get rumbles of vibration feedback based on activity, independent of trackpad and joystick programming. E.G. Left trackpad could have no haptics, joystick (left) strong haptics, right trackpad low haptics, and gyro medium haptics! Wow! * Gyro capabilities: That's right, you can select yaw or roll and start using this baby as a steering wheel. Or, to control movement when a certain button is held. Want both? Do both. They'll be independant controls, and easily programmed. Want to make that gyro function control a mouse? Be my guest. * Mode Shifting: This one's going to be a mouthful to explain. Basically, you can make the A key change the B key to another key. Or, the right trigger soft pull change your mouse sensitivity to low while changing your scope button to your fire button, while enabling gyro and turning the mouse trackpad into a dpad on full pull, with your melee button becoming a quick unscope button... Or however you'd like. Let's do another example: You want your left trackpad to act as a trackball mouse with a deadzone, and the horizontal to be more sensitive because you have two monitors side by side acting as one, giving you a super wide resolution. Then, you're playing a game with 16 different hotkeys that you need to program, without reaching over to another device or your keyboard to try and remember what they are... And you want to program icons for them as well. You can make any button on the controller switch the mode of the trackpad to the hotkey selection. This goes for either trackpad, meaning it's really on you to come up with whatever you're comfortable with using. Any layout, this is the most capable controller. The possibilities are endless, and all you need is to program it once in Big Picture; no, you don't have to use big picture to play your games, only to program the controller. It works in that game the same way after you program it, and you can save different layouts and switch at the push of a few buttons whenever you'd like. The only downside to this controller that I can find is the learning curve; otherwise every individual is entitled to their opinion of how good this controller is. If you're looking to replace that keyboard and mouse, become a couch gamer, up your gaming capabilities, play around with a $50 toy, or just show off to your friends, this controller is the bomb dot com. To this day, I've probably put a solid 50 hours of use into this, and it's at 100% battery life... with two AA batteries. That's right, two AA batteries, 50 hours use, and 100% battery life. Not sold? Let me tell you another thing about how frequently they're updated. You might know that these just came out, less than two months ago. Well, the Gyro function, the Hotkey Trackpad function, and the Area Selection function... Those are all new in the last update from a few days ago. New, as in, they completely added a Gyro function that didn't exist previously, just in the software alone. This thing is perfect in every single way, as long as you don't mind struggling to learn a new controller for a bit. I'd say it's well worth every cent. I was NOT paid to write this review, nor given anything at any discount nor for free. I preordered these with my own money, and don't regret a second of it.

This controller is not for everyone! I am giving it 5 stars because it has been perfect for me. Here's the kind of guy I am: a tech-geek who loves to tinker with software. If you are not that kind of person, you might find the extreme amount of setup and adjustment required to really get the most out of this controller to be daunting, to say the least. However, if you really learn to use the controller setup software, you will find this controller to be amazing. A few notes: * Amazing for emulators. It can mimic any kind of controller imaginable. * Does not require Steam Big Picture mode! It does require Steam to be running in the background, but Big Picture mode is optional. This was a nice surprise. * Even though the build quality on the buttons, triggers, control stick, and pads is great and durable, the body of the controller feels a little cheap and hollow. I remedied this by buying a silicon skin (not a decal, I got the one that stretches around the controller). This makes it feel a lot better and more luxurious. Problem solved. * Incredible battery life! I've used it every day for over two months and am still on the batteries that came with it. * When emulating a joystick with the touchpads, try the "Joystick Camera" setting. This will make it act like the virtual joysticks in iOS and Android games (swipe joysticks, like in Wayward Souls for example). This works much better than the default joystick setting in my opinion. * The haptic feedback is cool. * I use it for surfing the web and using Movie Maker, etc, just as often as I use my mouse. It's very good and accurate as a mouse substitute. However, doing this can be tiring on your thumb. This is the main problem using it for games like Civilization. It works great, but it can be hard on your hands. Conclusion: I was very wary when I bought this because of the mixed reviews. I saved the receipt in case I didn't like it. And you know, if I wasn't a tinkerer who likes to spend 30 minutes setting up the controller for every game, I'd probably have thrown in the towel. The software is VERY beta-feeling and awkward until you use it enough to get fast and natural with it. However, I AM the kind of guy who loves to customize his stuff and mess around with settings to get something JUST RIGHT. If you are too, buy this controller and enjoy!

First off, I'm going to say this: If you do not have patience, this is not the controller you are looking for. I actually had to delay my review for a few months because it took that long to get the full flavor of this wonderful piece of equipment. I have spent hours setting and tweaking and testing and tweaking and changing (and did I mention tweaking?), but it is 100% worth it. I have greater control over my games now than I ever had before. First off, the physical features of the controller. In the box are the controller, the wireless adapter, and an extender cable that either connects directly to the controller or to the included range extending piece. (A side note: even the box is awesome. They made it so it looks like a glow comes from inside when you open it.) Oh, and yes, batteries are included. Many would wonder why it uses 2 AA batteries. "We've moved past that, bring on the rechargeables," you may think. However, this makes wonderful use of those AAs. Battery life is longer than some rechargeable controllers I've had. (And if you really need rechargeables, get some in AA form.) All told, the controller technically has 16 buttons, a D-Pad, and a trackpad, but it really has so much more. (More on that later.) 3 of the buttons are under the D-Pad, trackpad, and joystick. One is the home (Steam) button, one start, and one select (so to speak -- they're actually arrows). You have your standard X, Y, A, and B buttons and two sets of shoulder triggers. One special point is the two triggers on the back under your other fingers. These two extra buttons give you unbelievable control. It's a little strange to hold at first, but you get used to it quickly. Now for some of the other features. The first thing I'm going to talk about is Mode Shifting. It's actually quite simple, though it can take a while to set up. I can bind a button (say my L2 trigger) to mode shift other buttons. So let's say B = Attack. With mode shifting, L2 + B = evade, or something like that. I can set that up for virtually any key combination, including the buttons under the pads and joystick. Another handy feature is the trackpads themselves. You can set one or both of them up to act as joysticks if you want, giving you superior control versus just using a joystick (which I have). I was a console guy for years, and I just switched to PC gaming recently. This controller bridges the gap and brings the best of both worlds. It has the accuracy of a mouse, the versatility of a keyboard, and the compact design of a controller. The best part is that you can control your entire computer with this, so you're not limited to your games. I'm going to talk about my own personal experience now. The first game I really had a chance to use it on was Euro Truck Simulator 2. I went in thinking that it would be another driving game with a controller, like I really needed that after all the Need for Speed games. However, this proved very different. I was able to bind all of my important features to different buttons on the controller. Even the little joystick seemed to give me more control than other controllers I've used. This was better for me than a joystick, a wheel, and DEFINITELY a keyboard. (Nothing against the keyboards, but they're not the best for driving games.) The game I really bought it for, though, was Elite: Dangerous. I had previously been using a Joystick/Keyboard/Mouse combo that gave me pretty good control and quick maneuvering, or so I thought. I didn't know what control was until I got my Steam controller. I am now able to control all axes (as in multiple axis) of travel AT ONE TIME. I can rise to the right while shooting forward in a spin now. My weapons controls are at my fingertips, and no one can stand against me. However, it took me months to get as far as I have, and I'm still not done tweaking the controls. It really is fun to work the controller to get as much as you can out of it, and if you don't care to do that, you can download a community template. On an ending note to the games, I will use the example of Portal. Anyone who's played a Portal game knows how important accuracy is, which is one of the reasons why mouse is superior there. This controller made both mouse and controller bite the dust on that front. (I know, I've used both for the game.) The controller feel really helps here, while the trackpad gives me pinpoint accuracy so that I can get just where I need to go. If this controller was made for a single game series, it was Portal. While this was just a small overview of the controller and it's capabilities, I will tell you that I highly recommend it. I have so many more games that I haven't used it for and look forward to finding out what it can do. In summary, have patience, explore the capabilities of the equipment, and eventually dominate the field. Look forward to seeing you in-game.

What an incredibly versatile controller! Easily dwarfs the usability of any other controllers I've used. I have been using it for five weeks now. My hands are a generally medium glove-size, and I hold my controllers the way you usually see, with my pointer fingers on the triggers. Strengths: -It can be used as a wired or wireless controller. -It is fully configurable, down to how each button and trigger acts and feels (haptic feedback). The steam interface for changing how the controller acts can be accessed through Steam's Big Picture mode, and therefore in game. They seem to have implemented nearly every functionality that I hoped, and many that I hadn't even considered. -Each input can be configured to feel like it has a texture due to haptic feedback. When I press my A/B/X/Y, I have them kick the controller slightly. When I use the left-pad as a joystick, I can feel how strong the joystick is pulling back to center. I can feel the heavy clicks of a scroll wheel if I set the touch-pad to act like one. It's something you need to feel to really get what I mean. -Touch Menus. You can set either touch-pad to show up on-screen as an additional graphical overlay menu of actions that you can configure to do whatever you can think up. I set my touch menus to select crew/weapons/drones, etc. in FTL. That's 16 keyboard shortcuts that I put on one touch-pad. You can even add icons and text labels to the selection menu. You see it in your game and you can adjust the size, position, overlay, color of the buttons, everything! It has been invaluable for FPS's that have more than three guns. As an example of what this looks like, I've attached a photo of the FTL touch menu I just made that accesses all the ship power and menu functions. -Those wacky buttons on the bottom of the controller I honestly have been hoping controllers from every console would implement snappy paddles for a long time. They're incredibly useful, and if you don't use them, just un-bind them. I use them as boost and handbrake in most racing games, and as jump and crouch in most first person games. It has always been very difficult to both boost *and* handbrake at the same time in Rocket League, but now it comes naturally to me thanks to this extra set of inputs. -Analog Triggers with a Digital Click at the end of the pull. ("Dual-Stage Triggers") The Game-cube controller was the best feeling triggers before the Steam controller because of this feature. The Dual-shock had bad ergonomics, and the Xbox 360 controller's triggers always felt a bit weak and limp to me. The Steam Controller has really, really clean and snappy feeling triggers. There is an increasing resistance as you gradually pull in, then at the end, there's a snappy thunk that takes slightly more resistance. It's like there was a button at the bottom of the trigger. And to top of how good it feels to use, you can bind the soft-pull and end-click to do different things! I made the soft-pull slow down my aiming in FPS shooters so I can aim more precisely, then the end-click fires the weapon! I just discovered today that you can assign haptic feeling to the triggers too, so if you just bind a button or a key to a soft-pull, you can have the whole controller 'thunk' when you pull it in slightly. It's really helpful, and feels good to use. -Impressively accurate Configurable Gyroscope This was a feature that I didn't even realize the steam controller had until I started playing around with it. When I found out about it, I didn't think it would be too useful, but after seeing some uses that other people had come up for it, I use it often. In Counter-Strike, I do most of my aiming with the touch-pad because it feels intuitive, but when I want to aim just a tad right, I just keep my finger on the touch-pad, and move my controller a smidge towards the right. The gyro controls are so accurate and intuitive, I can control my automatic fire-spread, which is a level of precision that I can't achieve with anything else other than a mouse. Same story with the haptics, they got it spot-on. The controller gives me tactile feedback on how much I'm adjusting my aim using the gyro controls. -Steam is releasing daily updates to the beta and adding incredible new features every day. Yesterday they added a way for a regular WASD movement to feel analog if you are using the joystick! It's incredible that they are adding usability features almost every day at this point. They even added the feature that I requested via their feature request forum! Problems: -It's different! I'm scared of change! This is the most common complaint I've seen. You're going to have to get used to it, just like any other controller. The button and touch-pad layout is something you haven't used before. It'll take ~5 days if you use it a couple hours a day and look through the simple configuration menus. -You need to tweak profiles to suit the game you are playing: For instance, to get the full experience out of playing Battlefield, you'll need to make the right touch-pad act like a mouse, while the rest of the controller acts as a gamepad. Or, if you're playing a flight game, you can set the gyro controls to pitch/yaw/roll control your plane while based tilt the controller (if you want). Or, you can do something completely wacky as long as it feels intuitive to you. Fortunately, thousands of other people are doing the same thing, and publishing their favorite controller layouts through the in-steam editor, and you can just browse for one you like, and hit apply. Some games are more difficult than others to figure out controller layouts for, but there is a large community of other people who are also figuring it out, so help is available. -The shoulder buttons take a little too much pressure to click, so I often bind my shoulder buttons to the paddle-buttons so I can reach them more easily. -There are a couple bugs All three minor bugs I have reported has been fixed within a week of my report. Summary: It takes getting used to, but after day five, you'll be complaining about how the Xbox controller has soggy-feeling triggers and doesn't let you aim right. I was vexxed at first by my thumbs going to the wrong place thanks to using an xbox controller, I was concerned by how different the inputs felt, but after going though the menus and making my own controller configurations for games, I don't think I can go back to any other controller. This really is the best performance you will get out of a control device of this format. The more I use it, the more I can see how much thought and experience went into making this piece of hardware. I honestly cannot express how fun this controller is to use and configure. It takes some getting used to, sure, but the payoff is fantastic. It lets me use a controller like I always felt they should be used. After I get a game all set up, I finally feel like I can forget that I'm using a controller, and really play the game, not fight with the controls.

I have a bit of a controller collecting problem. I have a ton of game controllers in my house, including the venerable Xbox controllers, PS4 controllers (the "DualShock 4"), a Logitech wired controller, and even two "8bitdo" controllers that look like old school NES controllers (I use them for playing retro games in emulators). So I've used a lot of controllers. This isn't like any of those, because I think it's the first time since the Wii Remote (& nunchuck thing) that a controller vendor is trying to do something innovative in the space. For that reason alone, I applaud this product, even as I acknowledge that it's not for everyone. At this point, having used the controller for around 10 hours of gaming (mainly X-COM 2, CIV 5, Portal 2, Diablo III (PC version which does not support controllers!), Dead Space, Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, Alien vs. Predator (the classic from like 1999 or something), and Jedi Outcast (2001 or so)), I present you with my list of pros and cons: PROS: - Works with literally every game I have thrown at it, including (a) modern shooter games that have built-in controller support like Portal 2 and (b) games that are not supposed to even support controllers like X-COM 2 and Diablo III. You may not LIKE the way it works with every game, or you may PREFER the way another type of controller feels, because you have muscle memory etc., but it WORKS with every game I have tried. - The trackpads offer much higher precision input than standard twin-stick controllers can offer. This is especially true after practice, and it is EXTREMELY true if you enable the "high precision" mode which is compatible with a surprisingly high quantity of modern games. The "high precision mode" treats the right trackpad as a mouse instead of a stick. My ability to perform competitively in certain shooters is suddenly much higher. - Great haptic feedback. - Infinite customization. And I do mean infinite. Want different buttons to do different things in different contexts or when you hold down a grip? You got it, it's called "mode shifting." Want to adjust the sensitivity of pads, make them behave differently, bind buttons to do different things than their supposed to, or even create a cool touch menu for yourself with graphics? Yep, you can do that. - Suddenly you can play X-COM 2 and Civ games from your couch, and Firaxis even built-in native support for the controller. So cool. - Great community, with a terrific interface for discovering, using, customizing and even sharing bindings for games (even non-Steam games!). - Diablo III works! StarCraft II too! The Witcher (original one) is finally enjoyable! - Old timey FPS games work, even ones that don't support game pads. As far as the game knows, you're using the WASD/mouse combo. Want to play an old DOS game from 1990 using a game pad? Well now you can. - It has gyro aiming as an optional feature you can easily enable. If you played shooters on the Wii like Metroid Prime 3 and Resident Evil 4, then you know how cool that can be. CONS: - The face buttons are small and clackety. This is not a controller to use for fighters. - The size of the controller is large and a bit awkward. I'm an adult male of small stature with small hands. I wish the whole controller was overall smaller and lighter. But I said the same thing about the Xbox 360 controller, and almost everyone I know disagreed with me - so take that for what it's worth. - No rechargeable battery. But maybe that's a pro - you can just stick your own AA batteries in there. They last a really long time anyway. - Construction feels a little less sturdy than the DualShock controllers. - No real D-pad (it's a trackpad). So, useless for fighting games and not ideal for side-scrollers in general. - Very few games support natively or have pre-fixed bindings. You'll either have to use the default bindings intelligently recommended by Steam (which, to be fair, are good 75% of the time), or create your own (which, to be fair, take like 5 minutes to create and work great). - For modern games that already have game pad support, if you already have muscle memory built up using a different controller, you might not want to learn how to use a new controller type.

there is a lot to say about this thing. firstly I'll say that this might not work great as a main controller, there will be some games where the touchpad just isn't what you're looking for. some games feel better with joysticks in my opinion. but with other games, this is a fantastic controller. there is so much customization you can do, you can truly tailor it exactly to your needs. the software for it is extremely powerful, detailed and it really lets you change just about anything. the drawback to this is that you will NOT enjoy or really even benefit from this product if you are not willing to experiment with it and do a lot of tweaking in the settings. this is a device that you need to tune to your preferences to really get use out of it, this is not for people who want a plug n play experience. although this process can be tedious, it's worth it and this controller is in a category of its own, there is really nothing else like it. the touchpad gives you more accuracy than a joystick does when it comes to aiming. personally I dont think it is as comfy as a joystick, but it absolutely is more accurate and allows for a wider range of motion. aiming with sticks is extremely limiting and you can only turn so fast. with this touchpad you can move as fast as you can with a normal mouse. this controller is a hybrid between mouse and controller, and it shines in games that let you bind controller AND keyboard/mouse inputs to it. unfortunately there are games out there that can not read inputs from controllers and keyboards at the same time. so if you press a controller button, and a keyboard button, some games can only detect one. there is nothing we can do about this, on either end. Fallout 4 for example is one game i noticed had this issue. the controller lets you map shortcuts, multiple layers of controls that change when holding a button, scrolling functionality with the touchpad, it has a ton of features that really enhance your experience once you have taken the time to make a good layout. there are also community made layouts you can use if you're lazy. the learning curve for the software is tough. some options have no description and are pretty technical which can leave you feeling lost. there is an ocean of settings to play with which is amazing for functionality but overwhelming to the user, I definitely recommend reading some guides to streamline this process. unfortunately this controller was not for me in terms of gaming. I would never use anything besides a mouse to aim in a competitive game, and for a casual game, a joystick is comfier and I dont mind the lost accuracy. now I use it to control my PC from bed. no more having to get up to change volume or mess with stuff. I can also turn off and turn on the computer with the controller. this device is for people who LIKE to mess with settings. it's for people who want to be able to tinker with their stuff so that it performs better. if you're willing to do that, this is well worth the money. if not, I'd go for something more traditional.

I had to try the steam controller out for myself. I just recently purchased because I have always had the xb1 controller and never thought anything would turn me away from it. The steam controller is actually a great controller. I like the way it fits in my hands better than the xb1 controller. I think the button layout is also nicer after getting used to it. The triggers are amazing. They have an analog pull, followed by a tactile click at the end. The windows function is nice for HTPC. The ingame controls are quick and easy to bind. Everything is so intuitive. I haven't been confused or looked a manual or needed directions yet. One thing that does take some getting used to, especially ingame, is the right touchpad. When used with xb1 controller settings, that touchpad takes place of the right joystick. With some practice it works as it is supposed to, but it's probably not for everyone. The extra paddles on the back are a bonus. I like to bind the extra paddles to different voice chat push to talks. I personally prefer my steam controller over my xb1 controller. They are both great controllers. The xb1 controller is tried and tested. If you only have enough funds to purchase one controller, it's hard for me to say one or the other. I would compare the steam controller to the xb1 elite controller given the extra features and paddles. But thats a 150 dollar controller. Lots of value in the steam controller if you're up for giving it a try.

I had watched all the reviews on YT. Some saying they liked it, others they hated it. But the deep integration and great Linux support made me decide to get one. But unfortunately they are not currently available in the Steam store. Thankfully found one here used for bit cheaper anyways. The main general consensus amongst most people is that thing controller is both similar, and yet very different thany all other controllers. Most similar to the Xbox style, but the top of it is more concave where as the Xbox style is convex and this makes it feel very different in hand. The touchpads are the main point of contention for most people. For good reason they are very different. But this enable a crazy level of customizability on a per game basis. Program them like a thumbstick for some games, and others use it like a mouse trackpad. Even give it a momentum feature and decide how far the mouse travels after flicking. It took alot of getting used to as it's been almost 6 or 7 years since using a controller for much gaming. Mainly have used ao7se and keyboard. But now I greatly prefer. I would highly recommend this controller with 3 prerequisites 1. You have to be willing to at least have the steam store open for it to work. Wish that was not the case but it is. 2. You have to be good at going into settings and finding all the hidden tweeks and features. 3. And along with number 2. You'll need patience as these adjusts on your very first game will take a while as you make them both in the Steam menu for the controller and sometimes in the games menu. Also I had little issue updating the firmware, plugging and unplugging directly to the controller and to the dongle. Finally one last time directly to the controller and updated and now works flawlessly. One little detail I LOVE. Is that you can change the little time that's played when you turn on and off the controller. Very neat. I love Valve's attention to detail.

Oh, how I was wrong. Quite simply, Steam Link for iOS devices and the Apple TV works so well it straight up feels like there's some kind of actual wizardry powering it all. Even more wild is that Valve snuck out an update to their Steam controller making it fully compatible with iOS devices and the Apple TV. (MFi controllers work as well, but according to Valve they've done some additional tweaking to the way the Steam controller works to lower latency even further than the MFi standard allows.) Using the Steam Link app is as simple as loading it up, pairing a controller, letting it search your network for your PC running Steam, confirming the pairing on the PC itself, and playing games. Overall, I have constantly found myself completely blown away by how well the Steam Link app works. If you have a gaming PC in your house, and an iPad or Apple TV, I do not think it is at all hyperbole to say that this is the killer app for iOS devices. If you're the kind of person who is always hungry for "real" PC-like game experiences on your Apple TV device, but have been dismayed by the amount of junk on the App Store, you can basically delete everything else but the Steam Link app. I'm still dumbfounded by Apple apparently allowing this on their platform, as I could see a very real situation where many people just straight up stop buying things from the App Store and exclusively purchase Steam games through Valve instead.

Not for everyone, I know. But for me, personally, I wouldn't use another controller. "But a wired 360 controller is far superior because - " Shut your wh*re mouth. I can sit on my couch and play my PC games from my TV and when I'm done I can exit big picture mode and browse the Web. Mouse control is nice and easy. Clicking, scrolling, back, forward, hell I can even map refresh to a button if I wanted. Admittedly it took a bit of time for me to adjust to the touch pad instead of a right analog stick, and those first 90 minutes of adjusting to it whole playing Dark Souls did get me killed a bit. But once you do get used to it it just feels right.