Valve’s Steam Controller made quite an entrance, selling out globally. In Japan, that same wave of demand hit the official regional distributor hard enough to temporarily knock its online store offline.

Distribution of the Steam Controller in Japan is handled by KOMODO, with sales going through their official storefront, KOMODO STATION. Units were gone by the morning of launch day, and the flood of Japanese users trying to buy one caused the site to become difficult or impossible to access starting around 2 AM JST. KOMODO has since issued an apology, stating that the disruption was a direct result of the high number of users attempting to make purchases at the same time.

【お詫び】

ストアへのアクセス集中の影響により、一時的にサイトにつながりにくい状況が発生しておりましたが、現在は順次解消に向かっております。

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販売も開始しておりますが、一部の環境では引き続きアクセスしづらい場合がございます。
恐れ入りますが、時間をおいて再度お試しください。… https://t.co/kEJ5dRAnmM

— KOMODO 日本公式 (@KOMODO_Games_JP) May 4, 2026

The site has been restored, but the experience was not smooth for everyone. Some customers spent hours trying to complete their orders, while others ran into errors specifically at the payment stage. For many, the Steam Controller situation brought back memories of the Steam Deck’s chaotic launch in Japan.

For those unfamiliar with the product itself, the Steam Controller is a gamepad priced at $99 USD. It connects both wired and wirelessly and works with PCs running Steam, the Steam Deck, and the Steam Link mobile app. It also comes with the Steam Controller Puck, which serves as both a wireless receiver and a charging dock for the controller.

The Steam Controller was first announced back in November and launched worldwide on May 4. There is currently no confirmed restock date, though some users have reported briefly finding the product available again by checking official pages repeatedly.