'This doesn't have RAM in it, and it's not as complicated to start getting
out the door for us' Valve confirms it's releasing the Steam Controller before the Steam Machine in response to RAM crisis, but originally saw 'no need' to ship them together

Date:
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:05:01 +0000

Description:
Valve has announced that it will release the Steam Controller next month, before the Steam Machine, amid the ongoing RAM shortage crisis.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The Steam Controller will officially release on May 4 for $99 Valve hardware engineer Steve Cardinali says the controller is releasing first because "there's no RAM in it" The Steam Controller, Machine, and Frame were delayed earlier this year Valve has announced that it will release the Steam Controller next month, before the Steam Machine, amid the ongoing RAM shortage crisis.

Earlier this week, Valve confirmed that the Steam Controller will launch on May 4, 2026, for $99 / 85 / $149 AUD. The news follows a blog post in February, in which the company delayed its plans to release the Steam
Machine, Frame, and Controller in early 2026, citing "the memory and storage shortages". Article continues below You may like The Steam Controller is almost here as Valve seemingly ships first batch Valve could be set to reveal Steam Machine price amid global memory crisis Steam Machine is delayed due to RAM crisis and price is to be 'revisited'

"When we announced these products in November, we planned on being able to share specific pricing and launch dates by now," Valve said at the time.

"But the memory and storage shortages you've likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then. The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing."

Valve noted, however, that its goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year had not changed, but now the Steam Controller will arrive first.

Speaking in a new interview with Polygon , Valve hardware engineer Steve Cardinali explained that because the controller doesn't have RAM, it's in a position to launch it soon. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
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"This doesnt have RAM in it, and its not as complicated to start getting out the door for us," Cardinali said. "Were ready for it. We wanted to build up quantity so that we could try to address everybody who wants one at launch, but its possible that the demand for it far exceeds our expectations."

However, despite recent RAM shortages and the fact that the Steam Controller is releasing to market first, the hardware engineer states that there was never a plan to launch all three pieces of hardware together.

"From the beginning, these were all different products. We had always
thought, obviously we want them to work together well especially the Steam Machine and the Steam Controller, theyre in a lot of ways a pair made in heaven but we saw no need to ship the Controller at the same time as the Machine," Cardinali said.

"The really only hard deadline is we didnt want to ship the Steam Machine before the Steam Controller. We want to have that out for the Steam Machine
It wasnt really ever the plan to ship them together unless it landed nicely that way. So theres no point in holding it back while we work through the other stuff."

TechRadar's managing editor, core tech, Matt Hanson, reviewed the Steam Controller , calling it a "massive improvement over the flawed original, offering some great innovations while also coming with a more conventional and user-friendly design." Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best PC controllers Our top picks for the best PC gamepads

Read our full guide to the best PC controllers 1. Best overall: Xbox
Wireless Controller 2. Best budget: GameSir T4 Kaleid 3. Best premium: Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 4. Best wired: Thrustmaster eSwap X2



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/this-doesnt-have-ram-in-it-and-its-not-as-com plicated-to-start-getting-out-the-door-for-us-valve-confirms-its-releasing-the -steam-controller-before-the-steam-machine-in-response-to-ram-crisis-but-origi nally-saw-no-need-to-ship-them-together


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