Why aren’t there more PC-first gamepads? Valve don’t know, but they "did see an opportunity" for the new Steam Controller

When the new Steam Controller goes on sale on May 4th, it will go up against much more established gamepads in the Xbox Wireless Controller and PS5 DualSense vein – though none that share its singular focus on being a PC gaming controller, specifically. Why are there so few PC pads? It’s a question I put to Valve designer Lawrence Yang and engineer Steve Cardinali, who’ve also worked on the Steam Deck, Steam Deck OLED, and the upcoming Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR hardware. And while theories were offered, the true reasoning for the peripheral industry’s console monogamy was, alas, left a mystery.