Valve ditches touchscreen in Steam controller redesign

Valve has unveiled a new controller for its Steam Machines taking some inspiration from Microsoft’s Xbox.

The company has ditched the central touchscreen and the gamepad now includes a, b, x and y buttons, coloured in an identical fashion to the Xbox.

Directional buttons have also been added opposite, as well as stop and play button and a central Steam button.

The controller still retains its circular touchpads however rather than the more traditional analogue sticks found on other consoles.

While the gamepad will be made by Valve as standard, the Steam Machine hardware will be manufactured by external firms such as Alienware, CyberPowerPC, Alternate, Zotac and Gigabyte.

The first Steam Machines are expected to launch later this year.

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