Earlier this year, Hori announced a rather surprising accessory: an officially licensed Steam wireless controller. The initial reveal only mentioned a Japanese release, but it’s now confirmed the Wireless Horipad for Steam will launch in North America on December 16. The pro-style gamepad will be compatible with Windows, and Steam Deck, and sports Steam-specific features that could make it a convenient choice for PC gamers. Preorders for the first third-party controller licensed by Valve are available for $60 at Amazon.
$60 | Releases December 16
Despite being marketed as a “Steam controller,’ the Wireless Horipad for Steam differs from the official Steam controller that Valve discontinued in 2019. Unlike Valve’s Steam controller, which featured uncommon inputs like dual trackpads instead of thumbsticks, Hori’s controller features a traditional controller design. It has all the expected face buttons, shoulder bumpers, triggers, a D-pad, and two thumbsticks that are offset like those on Xbox and Nintendo Switch Pro controllers.
While the Wireless Horipad for Steam looks like a standard controller, it offers a few extra features you won’t find on your typical third-party Windows gamepad–for example, the inclusion of the Steam Deck’s Options and Quick Access Menu, which lets you call up and navigate Steam’s various Big Picture Mode menus.
The Steam Horipad also has four additional remappable buttons–two on the front and two back paddles–trigger locks with two stop points, and support for gyro controls and turbo mode. Sadly, there is no rumble functionality, and the thumbsticks lack anti-drift Hall Effect sensors that are becoming more common on third-party controllers–but they do feature touch sensitivity, just like the thumbsticks on a Steam Deck.
As noted above, the Wireless Horipad for Steam works wirelessly on Windows and Steam Deck, with an estimated 12-hour battery life. This mode uses Steam’s proprietary SteamInput controller driver to allow for the Steam-specific functionality, but there’s also a Windows-only X-Input mode that is usable over a wired USB connection if you want to play non-Steam games on PC. Windows users will also be able to adjust controller settings like thumbstick sensitivity and button mapping using Hori’s desktop app.
The Wireless Horipad for Steam will cost $60 at launch. That puts it in the same price range as the excellent 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller, which has Hall Effect sticks and supports PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. The Steam Horipad costs $10 more than the PC-focused Ultimate Controller with a 2.4GHz wireless connection. The 8BitDo Ultimate is at the top of our best PC controllers list, so we’re interested to see how the Wireless Horipad for Steam stacks up.
