Valve opens Steam Controller reservations, but it's "limited to one" per person, so you better act fast

From today, you can add your name to a Steam Controller waitlist, but you’ll have just 72 hours to complete your purchase once available.

Steam Controller reservations are now open. Prospective buyers can now put their name down on a waiting list, and Valve will email you when your purchase slot becomes available. You'll be limited to one controller per purchase, and have only 72 hours to complete your order, but at least you can now join an orderly queue and know when your time has come.

The new ordering system comes into place after the first batch of controllers sold out within minutes, with early buyers able to purchase two controllers at a time. This initial system that Valve implemented led to a wave of Steam Controllers hitting reseller sites, as scalpers took the opportunity to keep one for themselves and sell a second one on for a significant profit.

The new Steam Controller reservation system kicks in the moment you visit the Steam Controller page on Valve's site. Instead of a "buy now" or "pre-order" button, at the bottom of the page is "login for purchase." This hints at the fact that you now need to log in with your Steam account in order to buy what we now consider to be the best PC controller money can buy.

Not only do you need a Steam account to join the waitlist, but you'll need to have made a purchase on Steam before April 27, 2026, effectively proving that you do in fact have an existing account, and haven't just made one in order to buy a controller.

This login system also provides the means for Valve to contact you, with the company emailing your account address to let you know that a controller is available for purchase. Once that email is sent, you'll have 72 hours in which to complete your order, after which you'll lose your slot.

As for how long you'll have to wait for a chance to buy, Valve says that "Replenishment of inventory will vary from region to region" but that it "will start fulfilling reservations next week in the US / Canada, and UK / EU / AU in the following weeks." This only refers to when new stock will start to flow, though, not when your place in the queue might be reached.

Valve implemented a similar system for Steam Deck sales, and, based on how quickly the Steam Controller sold out (and how negative the reaction has been to its rapid disappearance), there's a good chance the company will use such a system for Steam Machine and Steam Frame sales too, when those finally arrive.

As to when that might be, Valve had initially described the Steam Machine release date and that of the rest of the recent Steam Hardware as "Set to begin shipping in early 2026." However, with only a month and a half left in "early 2026," it's rapidly running out of time for all three devices to launch in that window.

While you wait, you can check out our Steam Controller review, which details all the ways in which the rest of the PCGamesN team and I have instantly fallen in love with this new Valve hardware.