The Steam Controller is a developed by for use with personal computers running on , , , or . The controller was designed not only for games developed for controller users, but also for games traditionally played with keyboard and mouse controls so that they can be played through the controller. It was released in November 2015 to support Valve's and discontinued in November 2019
The Steam Controller features two high-resolution clickable trackpads (replacing the typical thumbsticks on modern console controllers), and fourteen buttons, including face, shoulder, and undergrip buttons. The trackpads include , which can send tactile feedback to the player in reaction to events within the game; Chris Kohler of described using the controller while playing at a press event at Valve, and noted that as he used the trackpad to move the mouse cursor, electromagnets within the controller created audio and tactile feedback as if he were using a trackball. Although the controller is designed for the platform, it can also be used with Steam on existing PCs. The controller also included to detect the relative orientation of the controller.
A representative configuration page for the Steam Controller, which demonstrates the array of settings that can be adjusted on a per-game basis.
The controller is presently designed to be used within Steam's Big Picture mode; this enables the player to access detailed options for setting up the various features of the controller on a per-game basis including button/trackpad mapping and sensitivity as well as accessing other users' shared controller configuration to use themselves. The Steamworks API provides means for developers to provide more detailed settings for the Steam Controller when in Big Picture mode. Outside of Big Picture mode, the controller otherwise behaves as a standard two-stick controller, though Valve does plan on updating Steam to allow retaining the previously set Big Picture mode per-game settings