The Steam Controller went on sale on 4th May 2026. It was gone in 35 minutes. Within the hour, the same controller you'd just missed buying for £85 was available on eBay for £200. Same controller, different breed of parasite. This is the piece where we talk about scalping properly, because it's time someone did.

Gaming monetisation didn't arrive as a villain. It arrived as a reasonable proposition — a way to fund ongoing development and to reward engaged players. Then the reasonable proposition became a psychology experiment. Then the psychology experiment became the product. Here's how it happened and why you should be annoyed about it.