Valve hands the Steam Controller shell to the makers
Valve has published CAD files for the new Steam Controller and its wireless puck on GitLab. STP and STL models of the external shells, plus engineering drawings with its features and keep-outs marked up.
Free to download, study, and remix.
Steam Deck CAD files have been out for about four years already, but the controller is brand new, launched May 4 (and sold out immediately after). So Valve is dropping files for hardware that is just out of the warehouse.
“Feel free to use these to make your own Puck holders, Controller sweaters, or whatever else you want to create!” — Valve, from the repository README
The license is Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0. Same shape as Keychron’s release: personal, educational, non-commercial use. Want to sell a printed grip or a docking puck cradle? You will need to talk to Valve first.
You only get the outer shells and their dimensions though, the internals stay at Valve HQ. Meaning you have enough to design skins, stands, mounts, travel cases, puck holders, custom grip shells, or whatever weird thing the community comes up with.
Shapr3D showing the STL file on my machine. / Credit: kaytomas.com
A trend, and one Valve fits right into
This is now the third major hardware company in recent weeks to hand production-grade CAD files to its users. Keychron put their entire keyboard and mouse design library on GitHub back in April. Noctua followed with their full fan lineup at the end of the month. Valve has quietly slotted in alongside them.
It fits Valve’s character. This is the same company that ships a handheld you are openly encouraged to crack open, publishes its own repair guides, and partners with iFixit to sell replacement parts over the counter. Your hardware, your business.
It also lines up with where the wider maker and right-to-repair movement has been pushing for years.
Three companies, three categories, same instinct: trust your users with the real files. I love it!
