Valve's Steam Controller Puck sparks safety concerns after a near-fire incident

Valve's new Steam Controller has been a massive success, with largely positive customer feedback. In fact, demand has been so high that the company launched a reservation system to prevent scalpers from buying up new stock. Now the controller has found itself in the spotlight again, but this time for a design flaw that could be life-threatening in the worst circumstances.

The controller ships with a Puck that acts as a 2.4GHz wireless receiver and magnetic charging dock. It is a vital part of the Steam Controller package, but a Reddit post claims the accessory nearly caused a fire after coming into contact with a metallic smartwatch strap.

As reported on r/SteamController, user u/Toikka shared that they were charging a Pixel Watch 4 near the Steam Controller when the watch band touched the exposed contacts. Their watch strap heated up and started "sizzling". Thankfully, they were nearby and separated the devices before a fire started. The Reddit user reported that both the Steam Puck and the Pixel Watch 4 sustained only cosmetic damage.

The user said they do not blame Valve and called the incident their own fault. Interestingly, Valve already warns about this in the Steam Controller product guide, noting that metallic items can be attracted to the Puck and may create sparks, property damage, or injury if metal objects are present near the contacts.

To be honest, though, very few people read safety documentation that thoroughly, and warnings buried in product guides are easy to miss. So this is not something that should happen this easily, especially since the Puck may sit on a desk near watches, phones, keys, MagSafe accessories, or other metal objects in everyday use, where exposed contacts can become a hazard if they bridge with metal while the Puck is powered.

That being said, for the rest of Valve Steam Controller owners, the incident serves as a reminder to keep the Puck away from metallic objects. In the meantime, Valve's hardware team has been in touch with the affected user, who will be sending the items in for investigation. Valve has also offered to replace the Puck.