Valve’s Steam Controller Gets Makeover

Gone is the touchscreen in the middle

UPDATE: In an update to our original post, it appears as though the side touchpads are here to stay, and it’s only the touchscreen being removed from the controller. We also have a visual of what the new Steam Controller will look like.

ORIGINAL: Based on feedback from beta testers, Valve has decided to overhaul the look and feel of the controller for the upcoming release of Steam Machines. Gone are the touchscreen and gamepads from the Steam Controller, and in their place, players will find a d-pad and the standard A/B/X/Y buttons.

There is no information as to the location of the buttons on the controller, or how much of the look of the overall controller will change. All that’s known is that the buttons will be remappable (that’s right, we just made up a word).

These changes were made to help with worries about backwards compatibility, overall price and worries about players being distracted by the screen on the controller.