(Credit: Valve)
UPDATE 5/7: Valve will open a "reservation queue" for the controller on Friday, May 8, starting at 10 a.m. PST. "Once you reserve, your place in line will be saved," with the goal of fulfilling orders next week, it says.
UPDATE 5/5: Valve has acknowledged that its Steam Controller was in short supply yesterday, and has pledged to restock soon. "Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it," it wrote on X. "We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon."
Original Story 5/4:
PC gamers are feeling the sting of disappointment after Valve’s new $99 Steam Controller sold out 30 minutes after it went on sale today. However, it looks like the company is trying to restock.
Valve's website kicked off preorders at 10 a.m. PST. But the flood of interest caused some consumers to report troubles completing their orders, with Valve’s site warning: “There seems to have been an error initializing or updating your transaction. Please wait a minute and try again or contact support for assistance.”
Shoppers found themselves repeatedly clicking through the checkout process before their order was confirmed. “Literally exactly 30 clicks made it work for me. Is this a new style of DRM, Steam?” wrote one customer.
Others weren’t so lucky and failed to secure the controller as supplies ran out around the 30-minute mark. Some scalpers on eBay are now capitalizing on the out-of-stock product, hawking the device for $250 to $700.
Valve didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the controller has reappeared on the site for some. I got it to show up about an hour and 50 minutes after the sale started, though when I tried to purchase it, Valve told me: "Your order cannot be completed because one or more items in your cart is currently out of stock. Please try again later." Womp womp.
Still, eager customers should keep watching Valve’s order page, which now lists a delivery time of six to 10 business days.
In the meantime, purchase troubles are prompting some gamers to urge Valve to fix its ordering system, especially for the upcoming Steam Machine and Steam Frame, which could be released soon after a delay due to a memory shortage.