Valve Corporation is opening a reservation queue for the Steam Controller on Friday, May 8, 2026, to manage high demand [4].
This move follows a chaotic initial launch on Monday, May 6, 2026, where the device sold out rapidly. The shift to a reservation system is intended to prevent third-party scalpers from buying up stock and reselling units at inflated prices.
The reservation queue will open at 10 a.m. PST [2], or 1 p.m. ET [3], through the Steam online storefront [1]. By using this system, customers can secure their place in line without the risk of immediate stock depletion during a traditional checkout process.
"Once you reserve, your place in line will be saved," a Valve spokesperson said [2].
The company implemented the change after observing the secondary market. The Steam Controller has a retail price of $99 [1]. However, after the initial sell-out, some resellers listed the hardware for significantly higher amounts.
"We saw a lot of frustrated customers who couldn’t get a controller before it sold out, and we also saw scalpers posting the units for far more than $99," a Valve spokesperson said [1].
Valve did not specify how many units are available in this restock. The company is relying on the queue to ensure a more equitable distribution of the remaining hardware, a strategy often used by tech companies to mitigate the impact of automated buying bots.
“"Once you reserve, your place in line will be saved,"”
Valve's decision to move from a standard retail model to a reservation queue suggests that initial demand far exceeded the company's supply chain projections. By controlling the flow of sales, Valve is attempting to stabilize the market value of the hardware and protect its brand reputation from the consumer frustration associated with scalping.
