Valve is opening a reservation queue for Steam Controllers ‘to limit reseller activity’

Valve has announced that it’s implementing a reservation queue for Steam Controllers to handle stock shortages.

The controller went on sale on Valve‘s storefront on Monday, but demand caused site issues with numerous players reporting error messages.

Within around 30 minutes the controller started selling out in some regions – and it’s currently sold out in every major market – with scalpers then listing it on sites like eBay for up to three times the price.

Now Valve has announced that, starting on Friday, May 8 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST, users can add themselves to a reservation queue for Steam Controllers, and will then be given a 72-hour window to buy their controller once it’s their turn in the queue.

“Steam Controller launched on May 4th, and while we were happy to see such a high level of interest, the experience for a lot of you trying to buy it was incredibly frustrating,” Valve said in a message to users.

“We plan to continue replenishing stock as we get more in, but in the meantime wanted to share changes we’re making to improve the purchase experience and to limit reseller activity:

“Beginning May 8th at 10am Pacific, we’re opening a reservation queue for Steam Controller. Once you reserve, your place in line will be saved. When we go back in stock, order emails will be sent in the same order that reservations were made.”

Reservations will be limited to one Steam Controller per user. Once an order email is received, users have 72 hours to make a purchase. Users who were already able to buy a Steam Controller won’t be able to reserve a second one.

In order to reduce scalping, users also must have an account that’s “in good standing on Steam”, and must have made a purchase on Steam before April 27, 2026.

“Replenishment of inventory will vary from region to region,” Valve added. “We will start fulfilling reservations next week in the US / Canada, and UK / EU / AU in the following weeks.”