Hori has announced that it is working with Valve on a new gaming controller called the Horipad that works with Steam and the Steam Deck. This is fantastic news since Valve discontinued its Steam gaming controllers and hasn’t looked back. I’m glad that yet another company is releasing a controller strictly for PC gaming.
Oddly enough, it would seem that these controllers are only being marketed for the Japan PC gaming scene. Which should be an indication of how big PC gaming is in Japan. It appears the release date is toward the end of October 2024, and the controllers will be priced at $50. These controllers will come in four colors, Black, White, Purple, and Lime, and will work with Windows 10 and 11. There doesn’t appear to be any rumble support or trackpads, and sadly, Hori decided to go with Bluetooth over 2.4 GHz, which would have been better for input latency.
*Edit – We reached out to Hori regarding the Horipad for Steam and they got back to us. Sadly, they have no plans to sell the Horipad in the United States.
Thank you for contacting Hori USA. We apologize for the delayed response. There are currently no plans to sell the Horipad for Steam in the United States. We recommend checking out our Instagram and Twitter accounts for updates on future releases.
We thank you for your interest in our products.
So, that said, if you to get access to this controller, you’ll have to import it. Time to hit up your favorite import stores and see if they’ll be able to get the Horipad for you.
According to Hori’s website, these controllers will feature several features, such as:
- Full Gyro Support is available when Steam Mode is activated.
- DirectInput and XInput support
- Bluetooth (range of 10 meters) and wired connections
- A dedicated Steam button that can be used to start Steam if it isn’t already running
- Continuous button pressing or “Rapid Fire” mode for face buttons
- Quick access button
- Four customization buttons
- It can be used on PC or the Steam Deck
- 12 hours of usage
So far, I like what Hori is doing, but the lack of the trackpad, which the original Steam Controller had, and rumble support is frustrating. I enjoyed the original Steam controller and still use mine occasionally. Beyond that, I’d love to get my hands on one of these since I’m all about that PC gaming life.
