Valve’s new Steam Controller can play Mario, Portal and Doom themes

Valve is turning its new Steam Controller into a small stage for Steam culture. A recent demo showed the $99 pad not only ringing like a telephone and recreating the Wilhelm scream, but also playing the “Ground Theme” from Super Mario Bros. 2, the “Still Alive” song from Portal and the Doom theme.

That matters because the controller is arriving as more than a one-off accessory. Valve announced the Steam Controller, Steam Machine and Steam Frame in November 2025 as part of a broader hardware lineup aimed at early 2026, and the controller’s software pitch is just as important as the playful tricks. Valve’s store page says it is built for Steam and configurable with Steam Input, which points to a device designed around flexibility, customization and the kind of inside-joke experimentation that has long helped Steam feel like a distinct ecosystem.

The response was immediate. Valve put the Steam Controller on sale on May 4, 2026 for $99, and reports said stock disappeared in about 30 to 40 minutes. In major markets, the controller sold out quickly, with scalpers later listing units on resale sites for as much as three times the original price. Valve then opened a reservation queue on May 8 to cut down on reseller activity and make the buying process less chaotic.

The company said the launch experience was “incredibly frustrating” for many buyers, and it limited reservations to one controller per account. Once a customer reaches the queue, Valve gives them 72 hours to complete the purchase. That structure suggests Valve is trying to keep the product close to genuine players rather than speculative buyers, even as demand outpaced supply.

The music demos also fit a wider pattern: Valve seems to be selling an idea as much as a controller. A YouTube video showing the Doom theme on the device noted that Doom’s soundtrack had been added to the Library of Congress the same day the clip was posted, a neat cultural wink for a product that already speaks in references. In a crowded gaming hardware market, Valve is betting that fan-service, tinkering and Steam-native personality can do what plain specs alone often cannot.