HORI, a Japanese company that manufactures gaming controllers, has paired with Valve to make an officially-licensed one for Steam. Releasing on Halloween (October 31st) for ¥7,980 - which roughly equates to a $49.99 price tag in USD - it is designed with a similar layout as an Xbox or Nintendo Switch controller. Utilizing asymmetrical thumb-sticks, HORI's wireless gamepad will also include buttons dedicated to Steam features, such as the quick-access menu and picture-mode overlay. For a full list of what else the controller does (and does not) feature, see below:
- Four remappable buttons
- Touch-sensitive tops to the thumb-sticks
- Estimated 12-hour battery life
- A "Turbo" mode
- Gyro support
- Desktop app for adjusting button-mapping or sensitivity
- Steam Input, rather than a Bluetooth or USB connection
- Can use with non-Steam games on Windows, but must be wired and loses the gyro support
- No support for rumble
The controller will come in four colors: Neon Purple, Neon Yellow, White, or Black. No current information has been revealed regarding its release outside of Japan, but perhaps we'll learn more in the future. With this being the first official controller for Steam since Valve discontinued theirs back in 2019, it's safe to speculate that this is not the last time we'll be hearing about these new offerings.
What do you think of these new Steam controllers? Interested in picking one up, assuming it releases outside of Japan? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments
Maybe it's interesting if the gyros turn out to be useful, but otherwise I don't really see a significant advantage over other controllers, at least when used with a PC where I also have access to keyboard and mouse for games that weren't primarily designed for controllers.
For what it's worth, I think the "Neon Yellow" looks like puke lol. Legitimately terrible choice: it could've been burnt orange, or a nice Biscayne blue, or even red like the Steam Deck logo! Hell, be different and make it look like fake wood; anything but that!