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Valve has updated its Steam client to better reflect which titles on its platform will play natively with the DualSense and DualShock 4 PlayStation controllers.
If you’re a PC gamer that primarily uses a Sony-made controller such as the DualSense or the DualShock 4 then you’re in luck. Valve has now added more sophisticated controller support options for both gamepads available in your game library and from the store. Considering more PlayStation published games are coming to the platform, such as Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and The Last of Us Part 1, it’s about time.
Valve has also implemented an upgrade controller-friendly hub on Steam by controller type which allows you to filter game preferences by supported device of Xbox controller, DualShock controller, DualSense controller, and all controllers. Store pages for games now also detail between “Full Controller Support” and “Partial Controller Support” with the former including all Xbox and PlayStation controllers, and the latter being more specific to which models.
This extends to your game library as with controller support information available about that game’s compatibility with the gamepad you’ve got plugged in. There’s even device filters from within your own library, meaning you can know at a glance which controllers will work with what device before you boot them up; ideal for older games available on the service. The full statement has all the technical details.
The statement reads: “Players are clearly interested in using controllers to play a huge variety of games. In fact, around 12% of all active players on Steam are regularly using a controller”. It continues: “And some individual games can see the majority of their players using a controller. For example, many popular ball sports games can have well over 80% of their players using controllers, while many popular punishing RPGs have more than half their players using controllers”.
From the statistics offered from the past year alone, Valve states that there were over three billion game sessions played with a gamepad; 60% of which was done with an Xbox controller and 27% with a PlayStation one. This is in direct contrast to around four years ago where the numbers were 76% Xbox gamepad and just 19% PlayStation. From this information, it’s clear more PC gamers are embracing the likes of the DualSense as controller support improves.
Any update which allows players more options and versatility is a good one, and this continued effort towards making Steam the definitive place for PC gaming is welcome. As someone who plays on PC with some of the best PS5 controllers just as often as a trusty X-input model, this is definitely appreciated, and hopefully it’s just the start of what’s to come given more PlayStation games are making their way to the service.
