Steam Controller (2026) specifications and compatibility
Valve’s 2026 Steam Controller has magnetic TMR thumbsticks, two haptic trackpads, gyro with Grip Sense and an 8.39 Wh battery rated for 35+ hours. Below are its specifications and the devices it works with.
| Input | |
|---|---|
| Thumbsticks | 2× full-size magnetic (TMR), capacitive touch[1] |
| Trackpads | 2× 34.5 mm square, haptic, pressure-sensitive[1] |
| Grip buttons | 4 assignable[1] |
| Gyro / Grip Sense | 6-axis IMU; capacitive Grip Sense areas on the back of the handles[1] |
| Haptics | 4 motors: 2 LRA in the trackpads, 2 high-output LRA in the grips[1] |
| Connectivity | |
| Steam Controller Puck | 2.4 GHz, ~8 ms end-to-end, 4 ms polling (at 5 m); up to 4 controllers per Puck; USB-C[1] |
| Bluetooth | Host needs 4.2 minimum, 5.0+ recommended[1] |
| Wired | USB-C tethered play[1] |
| Power | |
| Battery | 8.39 Wh; 35+ hours (less when tracked with Steam Frame)[1] |
| Charging | Magnetic via the Puck, or USB-C[1] |
| Physical | |
| Dimensions | 111 × 159 × 57 mm (Puck 50 × 28 × 9 mm)[1] |
| Weight | 292 g (Puck 16 g)[1] |
Connecting it
The controller connects in three ways:
- Steam Controller Puck: a USB-C 2.4 GHz receiver that also charges the controller magnetically. Valve gives about 8 ms end-to-end latency with a 4 ms polling rate, measured at 5 m. One Puck handles up to four controllers.
- Bluetooth: the host needs Bluetooth 4.2 at minimum, and 5.0 or newer is recommended.
- USB-C cable for wired play.
The Steam Machine has the Puck’s radio built in, so a Steam Controller pairs to it directly and can wake it from sleep.
| Device | With | Status | Conditions / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam Controller (2026) | Steam Machine | Supported[2,3] | Pairs with the Machine's integrated wireless adapter; can wake the Machine from sleep. |
| Steam Controller (2026) | Steam Frame | Supported[1] | Battery life is reduced during tracked gameplay with Steam Frame. |
| Steam Controller (2026) | Windows PC | Supported[1] | Via the Puck (USB-C), Bluetooth or USB-C cable, on any PC or device running Steam or the Steam Link app. |
It works with any PC or device running Steam or the Steam Link app, including Windows and Linux PCs, tablets and phones. On macOS, Valve notes that some Steam games aren’t compatible because they rely on Apple’s Game Controller framework.
Grip Sense
Two capacitive areas on the back of the handles detect when the controller is being held. Holding and releasing them turns gyro aiming on and off, and they can also be mapped like any other button.
With Steam Frame, the controller’s battery life is shorter during tracked gameplay. See Steam Frame specifications.
Sources
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