If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Image credit: Steam
Valve has released a fresh Steam update that makes it even simpler to discover games supported by different controllers.
While it has been easy to find Steam games that support Xbox controllers, Valve has now built upon this function to make finding games that support both the DualSense and its predecessor the DualShock a doddle.
As part of an upgraded controller-friendly hub, Steam users can explore games by controller type when browsing the vast library. It will “default” to the controller any given user played with most recently, but there is also the option to adjust the filters.
“These improvements add better options for sorting and filtering areas of the Steam store, seeing clear compatibility information on individual store pages, and finding whether games in one’s library will work well with the controller in their hands,” Valve explained.
You can read the full Steam patch notes below:
- Store: Updated the display of supported controllers to split out DualSense, DualShock, and Xbox controllers separately
- Store: Updated search filters to include more device types to filter results by
- Store: Updated Controller Friendly hub to include filters for device type and device-specific Top Played/New and Trending results
- Store: Added display of “Controller Recommended” when a developer suggest that their game is best with a controller
- Store: Updated the notice on store pages of games that require a controller or VR to play as well as the notice on store pages for games which support both VR and non-VR modes
- Steam Input: Implemented a new, default mode for PS controllers where Steam Input will be enabled only in games without their own support for the device
- Library: Added a section in library game pages to describe the level of controller support. This only appears if Steam can tell that you have a controller currently connected
- Library: Enabled the controller configuration button to always appear next to the settings button for individual games.
- Library: Updated the controller configurator screen to also describe the full set of popular devices supported by the game while indicating the currently connected device.
- Library: Added a yellow notice to Steam library game pages when looking at a game that requires a controller to play
- Library: Added launch process steps to prompt users to plug in a controller when launching games that require or recommend them
- Library: Added a launch process step to describe when Steam Input is translating button presses from a typically unsupported device
- Library: Updated the logic and icons that indicate controller support for each game when in grid view
As part of this new blog post, Valve also laid out some interesting statistics, explaining why it takes controller support on its platform so seriously.
According to the post, over 3bn game sessions included a controller over the past 12 months. Of this number, 60 percent used an Xbox controller, 27 percent used a PS model and the remaining percentage was “Steam Deck, Switch Pro, and hundreds of other controller models”.
Records from this same period ending in November 2019 saw 990m controller sessions, showing how much controller use has grown since that time.
While mouse and keyboard still reigns supreme on Steam (poet and didn’t know it), Valve said around 12 percent of its active players use a controller regularly. Meanwhile, there are a number of games, such as ball sports titles, that see up to 80 percent of their player base using a controller, Valve said.
You can read more on Valve’s latest Steam update here.
