Hardly any time has gone by since Hori launched the first new official Steam controller in several years. The Horipad, while marketed with ‘for Steam’ branding, doesn’t come with built-in touchpads like the original Steam Controller or the highly praised Steam Deck. This means it functions similarly to other budget-friendly products, like the 8BitDo’s Ultimate 2C, which is currently priced at $29.99 on Amazon.
Rumors of a New Controller
There is growing speculation that Valve is working on a second-generation Steam Controller. To summarize, Bradley Lynch revealed that Valve is creating what is referred to as the Steam Controller 2, codenamed ‘Ibex’. Recently, Lynch posted what he claims is a render model of the Ibex, which is included below.
Recent Findings
Lynch states that this render model was discovered in updates for the SteamVR driver. Interestingly, the same applies to the new Valve Deckard controllers, which we have discussed in a different article. Bradley suggests that the Deckard headset might also be compatible with the Ibex controller.
Features and Design
Focusing specifically on Ibex, it appears that this new controller enhances the Steam Deck’s layout by positioning a pair of joysticks between a d-pad and the ABXY buttons. Additionally, the render model reveals two touchpads that are slightly angled inward. From the image, it seems the Ibex is considerably larger than modern wireless controllers. Consequently, Lynch and some enthusiasts have started calling it the Steam Duke, a nod to the infamous Xbox Duke. Unfortunately, many details about Ibex are still not known at this point.
