Steam Controller
The most recommended of 6 game controllers
People like its trackpads, gyro aiming and Steam Input mapping for PC and couch gaming, though critics say it leans heavily on the Steam client and feels less ergonomic than an Xbox controller.
People like its trackpads, gyro aiming and Steam Input mapping for PC and couch gaming, though critics say it leans heavily on the Steam client and feels less ergonomic than an Xbox controller.
118 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 74
- criticize it
- 44
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 74 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Trackpads and gyro aiming work well
“the touchpads worked. They shouldn't work, they should be abysmal, but with a little practice they're fantastic.”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Valve is about to win the console generation” “Gyro aiming is so good that after some time it became way better than my mouse aiming.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “I found the original Steam Controller's trackpad placement to be just about perfect.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” - Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine”
- Comment from 8 May 2026 in “Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license”
Steam Input mapping works well
“Once you get used to it and make use of Steam Input's per-game customisation and mapping it works really well”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Valve is about to win the console generation” “Instead, they provide a fully featured controller and let you configure it per-game in Steam.”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license” “Can't wait to use it as a mouse for my Windows-based couch gaming PC.”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license” Good for couch PC gaming
“I absolutly love my OG steam cobtroller. Great for couch navigation of a PC”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “Steam Controller: Reservations Update” “the Steam controller does a pretty good job of playing mouse&keyboard games”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March” “Can't wait to use it as a mouse for my Windows-based couch gaming PC.”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license” - Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Valve is about to win the console generation”
Bluetooth and multiple connection options
“I'm very excited it's finally getting a successor, especially since it supports Bluetooth.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Controller” “Valve really did great here with providing all three connection options”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Controller” “a classic Steam controller that is more reliable that my Xbox One one on BLE”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “I don’t need a Steam Machine”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Depends on the Steam client
“you need a user account, software running in the background and you need to accept the terms and services of Valve”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Apple Is Holding My Pictures Hostage Until I Accept Their New Terms of Service” “never added a standalone gamepad mode to the controller directly and it is always reliant on Steam”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “how featureless it's reported to be without the heavyweight steam client running”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Steam Controller: It's almost here” - Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Xbox goes down. You can't play games you own on disc”
Ergonomics and layout criticized
“feels like holding a rectangle, not nearly as ergonomic as the Xbox controller”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “PlayStation can delete all your digital games after 3 years of inactivity (EU)” “the controller looks cheap and all the buttons seem too far away from each other”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” Build quality feels cheap
“The manufacturing while perfectly functional isn't that high quality.”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “the controller looks cheap and all the buttons seem too far away from each other”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine”
Other game controllers people recommend
The four most recommended other game controllers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam ControllerThis page | 74 | 44 | 63% | 10 | — | — |
| Xbox Wireless Controller | 18 | 9 | 67% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 8BitDo controller | 13 | 3 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| PS5 DualSense controller | 10 | 6 | 63% | 6 | — | — |
| Sony PS5 controller | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 137 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the haptic feedback is superb at selling the effect both audibly and from the feeling on your thumb”
“Steam would just casually take 300% of CPU when Steam Controller was connected”
“feels like holding a rectangle, not nearly as ergonomic as the Xbox controller”
“you are probably better off switching to the Steam Controller at this point which also has a trackpad and gyroscope”
“I absolutly love my OG steam cobtroller. Great for couch navigation of a PC”
“the SC2 works like a regular controller if you just plug it in without Steam”
“you need a user account, software running in the background and you need to accept the terms and services of Valve”
“I can play FPS games decently on controller using the Original Steam Controller's pads.”
“This is strictly a Windows issue and the controller works fine on MacOS and Linux.”
“Open-sourcing the CAD files under Creative Commons is a wonderful move by Valve”
“This will enable the community to create custom modifications and accessibility adaptations for the Steam Controller.”
“Can't wait to use it as a mouse for my Windows-based couch gaming PC.”
“Steam is heavyweight to use just as an input profile selector at application launch.”
“It's reasonable for Valve to sell a controller that takes full advantage of their platform.”
“Instead, they provide a fully featured controller and let you configure it per-game in Steam.”
“how featureless it's reported to be without the heavyweight steam client running”
“Dual sticks, dual trackpads, back buttons, and good battery life... this will be fun to use.”
“the Steam controller does a pretty good job of playing mouse&keyboard games”
“If the alternative is pretending to be a 360 controller or Switch controller with limited features in either mode, as most controllers do, then I much prefer this.”
“never added a standalone gamepad mode to the controller directly and it is always reliant on Steam”
“a classic Steam controller that is more reliable that my Xbox One one on BLE”
“the Steam Deck and Steam Controller Mark II are both much more enjoyable to use”
“Oled screen in particular is literally same screen used in oled nintendo switch (1st gen). This is a good thing, better reuse, lowet costs.”
“Valve heard everyone hating on the og controller and seem to have fixed it.”
“Once you get used to it and make use of Steam Input's per-game customisation and mapping it works really well”
“the touchpads worked. They shouldn't work, they should be abysmal, but with a little practice they're fantastic.”
“it's the only controller he cares to use at all, especially for FPS”
“You do not need big hands to use a classic steam controller, you just need to shift your grip.”
“Valve finally did it before the last of my OG Controllers gave up the ghost.”
“The manufacturing while perfectly functional isn't that high quality.”
“the controller looks cheap and all the buttons seem too far away from each other”
“I found the original Steam Controller's trackpad placement to be just about perfect.”
“how much more playable and comfortable gyro aiming made these games”
“Valve really did great here with providing all three connection options”
“I'm very excited it's finally getting a successor, especially since it supports Bluetooth.”
“The new Steam Controller's layout has a proven track record with the Steam Deck”
“Gyro aiming is so good that after some time it became way better than my mouse aiming.”
“I can't say it was my favorite feature but I did appreciate that it made "battery replacements" a cinch.”
“I literally cannot play rocket league without the steam controller for this reason.”
“feels like it might finally give us a better, more extensible standard than the extremely outdated XInput protocol”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.