Valve's Steam Controller launch looks imminent as hidden 'unboxing' video is spotted

• Valve has apparently uploaded a Steam Controller 'unboxing' video
• The video clip was found via SteamDB
• It's not yet playable, but it indicates a launch might be imminent

It's been a long time coming, but we've finally caught an update on Valve's incoming Steam Controller, which will be bundled with the Steam Machine – albeit this is just a rumor.

As leaked by Brad Lynch on X, Valve has uploaded a Steam Controller unboxing video to Steam, which is visible in the Steam client backend via SteamDB. However, the video itself isn't playable yet, and upon trying, a message states that 'this video has not been processed for streaming'.

This revelation comes shortly after Lynch reported on the public records of Valve's imports, which show a 'wireless PC controller' among the packages. Both of these clues make it seem like the Steam Controller will arrive in the near future.

It's worth noting that prices for the controller and the Steam Machine haven't been announced, but maybe we'll be hearing the price tag of the former sooner than expected.

A separate release?

Unless Valve secretly has its Steam Machine also poised for launch soon, this video sighting appears to back up recent speculation that the company is planning to release the Steam Controller separately (before the PC arrives).

Regarding the prospect of an imminent Steam Machine launch, there aren't any signs this is happening. And it feels like a remote possibility given that the RAM crisis is still making itself felt in a major way with the PC hardware market, which makes things difficult for Valve in terms of pricing its console (and securing components).

While it may still be too soon for Valve to announce retail pricing for the Steam Machine, we can hope that we might at least get an update on the potential release timeframe.

At any rate, a separate launch of the Steam Controller would be positive news for most PC gamers, even if it meant the controller ended up arriving months ahead of the console it was designed for.

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