In response to the chaos of scalpers reselling the new generation Steam controller (2026 model) at large-scale price increases, Valve officially launched a pre-order queuing system to violently counterattack. Previously, the controller performed extremely well on the day of release, and the inventory was sold out in just 30 minutes. Subsequently, a large number of resale information appeared on second-hand platforms such as eBay with a premium of nearly twice.
In order to completely block scalpers from using automated scripts to stock up on goods in bulk, the pre-order threshold set by Valve this time is extremely hard-core:
First of all, the Steam accounts of users participating in the queue must be in good standing to prevent temporarily registered accounts from fishing in troubled waters. Secondly, users must have purchase records on the Steam platform before April 27, 2026. The setting of this time node accurately filters out robot accounts that were created urgently after the release.
In terms of the specific queuing process, Valve has adopted a strict order of limiting purchases to one per person. When a user is qualified to purchase in the queue, the system will send an order reminder to the bound email address. Users must complete the payment within 72 hours (3 days) after receiving the email. Once this window is missed, the purchase qualification will be invalidated and postponed to the next person in line.
In addition, users who have successfully purchased the controller are currently prohibited from participating in pre-orders again, fundamentally eliminating the possibility of repeated purchases.
Valve officially admitted in a statement that the purchase experience on the launch day was indeed very bad, and many core players failed to place orders as they wished. Officials hope that by introducing this pre-purchase mechanism based on historical credit records, the holding costs and technical thresholds of scalpers will be increased, and limited production capacity will be directed to real users as much as possible.
At present, Valve has promised to continue to replenish inventory, and purchase quotas will be issued in batches according to the order of queuing.
