Valve is changing the rules for purchasing the Steam Controller. The company is taking a stand against scalpers.

Valve introduces new rules for purchasing the Steam Controller following the massive interest in the device's launch. The controller sold out almost immediately after its debut, and now the company wants to curb the activities of scalpers and better manage subsequent deliveries of the hardware.

Valve launches Steam Controller reservation system

From 8 May, users will be able to reserve a place in the queue to purchase the Steam Controller directly through Steam. When a new batch of devices arrives in stock, Valve will automatically send the opportunity to finalise the order in the order of reservations. Buyers will have 72 hours to pay for their order after receiving the email notification.

The company clearly states that the new solution aims to reduce the chaos surrounding the launch and make it harder for bots and resellers to mass purchase devices. The Steam Controller has proven to be significantly more popular than Valve initially anticipated, which is why the manufacturer had to respond quickly to availability issues.

End of mass purchasing and bots

Valve is also introducing several additional restrictions. One user will only be able to reserve one controller, and those who have already purchased a Steam Controller previously will temporarily not be able to make additional reservations. Additionally, the Steam account must be in "good standing" and have a purchase history dating back to before 27 April 2026. This safeguard is intended to make it more difficult to create new accounts solely for the purpose of buying equipment for later resale at inflated prices.

Valve has also confirmed that the next shipments of the Steam Controller will arrive in the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australia as early as next week. Everything indicates that the company wants to stabilise the situation as quickly as possible and increase the availability of the device for regular gamers. The popularity of the controller shows that Valve's new equipment has generated significant interest within the PC gaming community, especially since the device quickly climbed to the top of the Steam bestsellers list right after its release.

Valve is responding to the massive demand for the Steam Controller and is introducing new purchasing and reservation rules. The company wants to limit the activities of scalpers and provide more players with fair access to the hardware.

source: techpowerup

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