Steam gets a new official controller, but it's not from Valve

About five years after Valve discontinued its experimental gaming controller, a new Steam gamepad is on its way. But there's a catch: it's not made by Valve. Hori, a Japanese brand that's known for its high-quality console gamepads, is making it.

It's not specifically called Steam Controller 2 either. The officially licensed gamepad is dubbed the Wireless Horipad for Steam, and it will be sold in Japan from October 31. The company hasn't said anything about releasing it globally, but it did state that the price in Japan would be 7890 Japanese Yen (about $49).

As for the controller itself, it's not exactly a successor to the original Steam Controller. The Horipad doesn't have rumble and the signature trackpads. But it does have menu buttons that match the Steam Deck. Like the high-end controllers from Sony and Microsoft, this one comes with programmable buttons.

There are four of them, to be specific, with two of them being backside pedals, and the other two are under the D-pad and the analog stick. The company's official promo also suggests that the Wireless Horipad for Steam supports a rapid-fire feature and gyro.

Another interesting bit about this Steam controller is that the sticks have touch sensors. You can customize them for different inputs, and there's also the option to switch the triggers from analog to digital modes. The latter should make the gamepad great for multiple genres, including racing and shooters.

Customizing the Wireless Horipad for Steam should be easy, as the company will offer a dedicated app. Also, while it's marketed as a wireless gaming controller, it supports wired connection through USB-C. As for the wireless part, it's not through a 2.4 GHz dongle. It's instead through Bluetooth, so the latency won't be as low as some of the other controllers out there (pre-order the 8bitDo Ultimate 2C from Amazon).