Valve has announced that it will be opening a reservation system for future Steam Controller orders, in a bid to ease stock issues and prevent scalping.
Valve’s new accessory went on sale earlier this week, and it didn’t take long for the initial allocation to completely sell out, with stock in some regions having been completely taken in less than an hour. It wasn’t long before Steam Controllers began popping up on resale sites like eBay, with some listed at more than double the retail price.
Starting Friday, May 8th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK, Steam users will be able to sign up to a reservation queue in preparation for the next restock of Steam Controllers.
“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,” a statement from Valve read.
“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 10 am Pacific, we’re opening a reservation queue for Steam Controller,” Valve explained. “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.”
When reservations open later this week, users will only be able to reserve one controller, and anyone who has already bought one will be unable to purchase a second. Once it is your turn to order, you’ll have 72 hours to make the purchase.
In a bid to combat scalping, users must also have a Steam account that is in “good standing” and has made a purchase before April 27th 2026.
Valve says that the replenishment timeline will “vary from region to region”, with reservations in the US and Canada being fulfilled next week, with orders in the UK, EU, and Australia expected to be fulfilled “in the following weeks.”