Valve Refunds Steam Controller Buyers After Taking Too Many Orders

Sometimes, deals truly are too good to be true. Take, for example, Valve's Steam controller. Last week, the controller was offered on clearance for a paltry $5 (plus shipping). However, once Valve revealed that this would be the final batch of Steam controllers manufactured, a number of fans scrambled to snag the controller. Alas, according to a number of posters on Reddit, Valve has been canceling orders and issuing refunds, as the company apparently sold more Steam controllers than they had available. A Reddit poster going by the username fpmaat has shared the response they received from the company.

Steam response to the problem. from r/SteamController

Naturally, a number of the Steam controllers purchased have ended up on eBay, where sellers are seeing a decent profit (most are selling in the $40-50 ballpark). The most frustrating thing about the situation is the fact that Valve still hasn't given an official reason for production of the controllers ending. A patent discovered on Reddit has caused some to speculate that Valve is creating a new version of the controller. If that is, indeed, the case, that revelation would likely lead to a decrease in secondary market demand, as fans would feel less pressure to spend more.

Of course, while that particular patent is real, it doesn't necessarily indicate anything until an official announcement is made. The design found online could be one that Valve considered before deciding to move in a different direction. If Valve truly has decided to get out of the business of manufacturing controllers, it could simply come down to cost. The Steam controller boasted the ability to map any controller configuration. It was a neat feature, and many users shared their creations online, but it became a bit redundant once Valve added the option to natively do so for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and even third party controllers, as well. Why bother selling their own design if it was cheaper to allow players to use controllers from other manufacturers?

Unfortunately, it seems players will be left waiting for answers until Valve decides to offer anything concrete. Should Valve make any kind of announcement in the future, we'll keep you posted.

Did you order a Steam controller as a result of the sale? Did your order get refunded by Valve? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!