Valve admits "Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated," says "we're working on getting more in stock" but doesn't mention the scalper problem
PC gamers burned through the initial Steam Controller stock within an hour after orders went live, which Valve admits was unexpected as it reflects on the frustration-tinged launch.
“Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it,” Valve says in a post on Bluesky. “We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon.”
Players feared this exact situation as soon as it was revealed that Valve wouldn’t be taking pre-orders for the Steam Controller, though I suppose opening the gates early doesn’t necessarily slow the stampede.
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At the time of writing, Steam Controller is still somehow the top-selling item on Steam’s rankings despite being out of stock. The launch barrage was so fierce that Valve’s shipping estimation also doubled before stock ran dry: from 3 – 5 days all the way up to 6 – 10 days.
Notably absent from Valve’s reflection is any acknowledgement of scalpers or any word on future scalping prevention. The absolute state of eBay Steam Controller flips, with heaps of sellers already asking for double or nearly triple the controller’s actual value, demonstrates just how heavily the launch was parasitized by scalpers.
When Valve does get another wave of Steam Controllers in stock, many PC gamers hope to see it implement anti-scalper measures that could help ensure more game pads find their way to people actually hoping to use them rather than squeeze them for a quick buck.
Many responses to Valve’s Bluesky post demand an anti-scalper plan similar to what Nintendo pulled off with the Nintendo Switch 2 launch. Nintendo set things up so that Switch Online members with “a certain amount of time” spent playing purchased games were given priority in Switch 2 orders, meaning fresh, sock puppet scalper accounts made to circumvent order limits were pushed down the queue.
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Companies can only do so much to fight scalpers and bots, but a similar system gauging Steam purchases, play time, and account age would theoretically weed out Steam Controller scalpers in a similar way. That said, there does come a point where such a system risks punishing entirely real but more casual gamers. Fighting scalpers: good. Requiring 250+ hours logged in Valve-made games, as I saw one user propose: bad.
Steam Deck 2 still in the works, Valve says, but Steam Machine and Steam Controller come first: “A lot of what we’re doing here will be learnings that build up to it.”
