Valve has responded to backlash after the Steam Controller sold out in under 30 minutes. According to the PC publisher, they didn’t expect the Steam Machine peripheral to sell out so quickly.
Valve Gives update on Steam controller restock
After months of hype and anticipation, the Steam Controller sold out in just 30 minutes. Many players trying to purchase Valve hardware were instantly met with error messages and checkout glitches. Despite the Steam Controller price being set at $99, demand was so high for the peripheral that it managed to crash Steam servers for hours.
However, Valve has now addressed the Steam Controller shortage in a post on X and explained that they were taken by surprise over how much players actually wanted it. “Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it.” Valve then gave players an update on new Steam Controller stock being added to the store.
“We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on an expected timeline soon.” Although at the time of writing, it’s unclear when a restock could happen. Following its rocky launch, Valve got a fair bit of backlash from Steam users for how it sold the Steam Controller.
Steam Controller Launch Frustrates Players After Store Issues
As you can imagine, players who weren’t able to get a Steam Controller weren’t too happy about it. Many PC players flocked to social media to voice their frustrations with how Valve handled pre-orders. A common complaint users voiced was the 2-per account limit. However, there are now reports that it was actually a 2-per-transaction limit.
As a result, some scalpers were able to buy dozens of controllers without consequences. Over on Reddit, players called out Valve for the Steam Store crashing as soon as the Steam Controller went live. “Valve completely dropped the ball on this release. Why are they allowing people to purchase 2? Why is their store s***ing the bed?” a user wrote, for example.
Another commenter posted, “Allowing people to purchase 2 was a stupid idea if stock really is that limited. It just encourages people to keep one and scalp the other.” One frustrated user vented, “Not only that, but apparently it was 2 per transaction, not 2 per account. I saw someone saying they bought 8.”
Scalpers Are Already Selling Steam Controllers for More Than Double the Price
Adding even more frustration to the situation is that Valve’s new controller immediately began being scalped on auction sites such as eBay for double the price. I’m talking literally minutes after the launch ended, there were hundreds of listings posted by resellers.
Depressingly, many of the Steam Controllers being scalped have sold for as high as $230 to $250. Doing the quick math, that is essentially a 152.5% profit markup. Gross. While we don’t have an ETA on a restock, Valve addressing the controller shortage at least shows the company is working to get the peripheral back in stock as quickly as possible.
The post Valve Addresses Steam Controller Shortage After It Sells Out In One Day appeared first on VICE.
