First reported by , rummy new app peripherals manufacturer Hori is making an set to release in Japan on October 31. While this is a Steam controller, it's not a Steam Controller if you take my meaning. But this is the first time Valve has licensed the Steam branding to a third party hardware manufacturer since the quiet death of the ill-starred Steam Machines.
Like many beautiful things in this fallen world—the works of Vincent van Gogh, RPG powerhouse Troika Games, the 1995 film —the was not appreciated in its time, only getting a wistful, bittersweet reappraisal after the fact. Yes it definitely needed a second analogue stick, and maybe could have benefitted from a rechargeable battery instead of two double-As, but it was something strange and new, and its software support helped usher in a new era of .
The Wireless Horipad for Steam, meanwhile, just looks like an acceptable but replacement-level mid-budget controller. As The Verge points out, it seems to be based on (and a slight upgrade to) Hori's previous . You get Bluetooth wireless and some programmable buttons—definitely some steps above a super budget controller like the Logitech F310 favored by everywhere, but nothing that gets me super-excited like drift-proof Hall Effect analogue sticks.
It's hard to say if this is indicative of the company's future plans though: Valve doesn't bet on losers, and even a successful game or project may not get the full support you'd expect—I don't know if we can expect more like this controller in the future. The Wireless Horipad for Steam might just be a budget PC gamepad, but the tradition of all failed Valve hardware initiatives weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.