Steam Controller took "easily hundreds" of attempts to get its layout right, but did Valve nail it?

Valve said the Steam Controller took hundreds of prototypes to get the final shape, controls, and trackpad layout right.

Designers Lawrence Yang and Steve Cardinali said the small team built both nonfunctional and working mockups in early 2023.

The goal was to bring Steam Deck-style input to docked PC gaming, including dual trackpads, a d-pad, and better ergonomics.

The intense iteration highlights how difficult controller design can be, and why demand was strong enough for the launch to sell out quickly.