Valve says it can sell the Steam Controller while the Steam Machine is in AI limbo because "this doesn't have RAM in it"

Valve will launch the new Steam Controller on May 4 for $99.00, and hardware engineer Steve Cardinali says the gamepad is coming before its console-like partner, the Steam Machine, because it doesn't have to contend with the ongoing RAM crisis or similar production hurdles.

Speaking with Polygon, Cardinali notes that the Steam Controller "doesn't have RAM in it, and it's not as complicated to start getting out the door for us." Steam Machine, meanwhile, had to go back to the drawing board earlier this year as Valve works to navigate a challenging environment for manufacturing components.

A rush to invest in AI and generative AI technology, and to erect a zillion data centers to support it, has consumed a significant chunk of the memory in the market. Knock-on production effects have impacted pricing and availability of myriad hardware, with gaming hit especially hard at a time when prices are already rising across the industry, especially in the US post-tariff complications.

Valve joked last month that "if you have a line on a bunch of RAM, we are in the market and would like to buy it," as it works to make Steam Machines in a volume and at a price point that will suit the market.

The Steam Controller, at least, sounds ready. I mean, Cardinali even says so. "We're ready for it," he continues. "We wanted to build up quantity so that we could try to address everybody who wants one at launch, but it's possible that the demand for it far exceeds our expectations." Indeed, Valve seems to have a boatload of Steam controllers on hand – good thing, too, because there won't be any pre-orders ahead of May 4.

Additionally, he stresses that the Steam Controller and Steam Machine were never inextricably linked. The controller is good for all manner of PC and laptop play, though it's a "pair made in heaven" for the Steam Machine as a couch gaming package. If anything, Valve was worried about the reverse launch order.

"The really only hard deadline is we didn't want to ship the Steam Machine before the Steam Controller," Cardinali says. "We want to have that out for the Steam Machine… It wasn't really ever the plan to ship them together unless it landed nicely that way. So there's no point in holding it back while we work through the other stuff."

As Phil said earlier this month: Valve is now sitting on lots of Steam controllers, so releasing them before the Steam Machine is a no-brainer.