Leaker says Valve is working on a Steam Controller 2

digitaltrends.com:

Valve is working on a follow-up to its Steam Controller, its Steam Machine accessory first introduced almost a decade ago, according to a prominent leaker.

Brad “SadlyItsBradley” Lynch wrote on X that Valve’s second Steam Controller is known internally as “Ibex” and is in mass production.

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There weren’t any other details, including whether it’s designed like the first Steam Controller or looks like controls on the Steam Deck, for example, although Lynch mentions in another post that he’s seen some mockups. Lynch responded to another user who posted a mockup with traditional joysticks above two trackpads saying that it’s “much closer than the other mockups I’ve seen so far.”

Lynch also said that datamined SteamVR code seems to reveal a new VR controller called “Roy” that’ll go along with a long-rumored VR headset codenamed “Deckard” that we’ve reported on previously. Valve filed a patent in 2022 for a standalone headset that doesn’t require a PC connection, improving on one of the Valve Index’s biggest flaws.

There’s more information available about Roy from this leak, including that it’ll have hand tracking, physical buttons like the typical ABXY inputs and grip buttons, and that “most” of them will have “capacitive touch features.” There are also new details in the leak about Deckard. It appears to be adding both eye and face tracking similar to the Quest Pro.

Lynch has a history with high-profile hardware leaks, including one years ago for Meta’s Project Cambria — a high-end VR headset that turned out to be the Meta Quest Pro.

Valve has always had a larger presence in software than hardware, but has been experimenting over the years with products like the Steam Machine — a series of mini PCs running on SteamOS that would let you play PC games