Five years after the Steam Controller, there is once again a gamepad designed for the platform – but not from Valve
Japanese accessory manufacturer Hori has announced a new controller that is officially licensed for the Steam platform.
Why this is important: Valve took the Steam controller off the market around five years ago. Since then, there has been no “official” controller – until now.
In detail:On theofficial website of the manufactureryou can find the “Wireless Horipad”, which advertises itself as the “only controller licensed for Steam”.
- Basically, the controller has a similar control scheme to the Steam Deck. The menu buttons, for example, are identical.
- Capacitive touchsticks are also available, which can be used to activate the gyro sensor – one of the most important features according to our controller expert Linh.
However, there are a few points on the Wireless Horipad that some of you might miss
- The controller has no vibration function, and you won’t find any trackpads on the gamepad either.
- In addition, there are only two programmable buttons on the back instead of the usual four. The “missing” two buttons are located directly below the D-pad and the right thumbstick respectively.
The connection options are USB-C or Bluetooth; the battery life is specified by the manufacturer as up to 12 hours
Price and release:The Wireless Horipad is currently only available in Japan at a price of 7,980 yen (equivalent to around 46 euros).
- You can choose between black, white, neon yellow and purple as color options.
- No details of a possible launch in Europe are yet known.
Now we need your opinion: Which controller do you prefer to use? Do you have a particular recommendation or do you always play your games with a mouse and keyboard? Let us know in the comments below
