Here’s the timeline: Reviews of the Steam Controller went live on April 27 (here’s ours). That same day, Valve announced the controller’s availability date (May 4) and price ($99). A week of pontification about the gamepad’s price point followed and by the morning of May 5, the Steam Controller was officially sold out.

Which brings us to now. Valve tweeted the following message around noon ET today: “Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it. We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon.” Meanwhile, some buyers have seen their estimated shipping dates quietly increase.

Valve is working on shipping the Steam Controller in a timely fashion and figuring out how to restock its supply, while also (ostensibly) trying to launch the Steam Machine console and Steam Frame VR headset. The company originally planned to release the Steam Controller, Steam Machine and Steam Frame in early 2026, creating a fully contained couch-PC-gaming situation, but it’s the fifth month of the year and the Steam Controller has only just seen the light of day. In March, Valve laid the groundwork for its hardware to miss 2026 entirely.

The Steam Machine and Steam Frame have been delayed by the ongoing memory shortages causing chaos across the tech industry. However, there’s cause for optimism. Valve imported roughly 50 tons of “Game Consoles” to its US distribution centers between April 30 and May 1, a higher volume than its recent Steam Deck restock orders, as reported by Valve watcher Brad Lynch and corroborated by The Verge. Speculation has it that these could be Steam Machines or Steam Frames, but Valve has yet to comment. Valve has a long and rich history of leading players on and then supremely disappointing them, so as always, hope at your own risk.