'Average Valve W': After some Steam Controller packages were sent to the wrong country, Valve is reportedly giving 'any standard-edition title' to affected shoppers

It seems like the Steam Controller is a hit. After selling out immediately, Valve implemented a reservation system to get your hands on it without having to fight so many scalpers. If you recently purchased one, and your package has been sent to the wrong country by mistake, there's a chance Valve will reimburse you with a game of your choosing. That's not bad for a short wait.

That's according to user hvhhggggh over on the Steam Subreddit. Their Steam Controller was reportedly routed to the UK by accident, and while they wait for it to be rerouted, Valve said, "To thank you for your patience, we would like to offer to add a game to your library. Please pick any standard-edition title available for purchase in your region and reply here with your selection"

I have reached out to Valve to confirm if this is the real policy around Steam Controller shipping delays and if there are any caveats. Given that most of the games on Steam are not owned by Valve, one would assume that the company would be paying out of pocket for any non-Valve choices here.

The email does clarify that only a "small number of packages were mistakenly sent to the UK", but we don't have concrete figures on how many just yet.

It is worth noting that this user reached out to complain when their package was late, so that's worth doing if yours has also been held up in shipping. This gesture from Valve has been met with widespread support, with the original Reddit user calling it an "Average Valve W".

The top comment is a double compliment for Valve, saying "Sometimes I wish I had a reason to use the customer service and experience something like this, but so far Steam has been a frustratingly great experience and I have no substantive complaints."

Average valve W from r/Steam

When someone mentioned that they could pick the most expensive standard-edition game out there, the original poster said Forza Horizon 6 was on their list. They later confirmed it was between that and 007 First Light, but Forza being Steam Deck verified made them pick the new racing game instead.

Though a seemingly small gesture, giving away games to those getting their Steam Controllers late has picked up a lot of goodwill for the company, and the original Reddit thread is filled with users sharing good experiences with Valve support.

At least those who get their controllers late will have a fancy new game to test the controller with.