Game time: Valve has long made it easy for gamers with an Xbox controller to find something compatible to play on its Steam platform. The experience has not been as seamless for PlayStation DualShock and DualSense users, but that is all about to change.
The latest patch has upgraded the controller-friendly hub on Steam to make it easier to sort by controller type. By default, Steam will filter based on the controller you've played with most recently but that can be manually adjusted to any of the major controller models now supported.
Store pages will also make it easier to determine compatibility, and there is also a new category for games that make full use of the Steam Input API. Enhanced compatibility information is also being inserted into your Steam library, so you'll know at a glance which games you own are compatible with certain control models. What's more, Valve is also bringing the changes to Big Picture Mode for those that like to play from the couch.
Why does Valve, a PC-first company, care so much about game controllers? The truth of the matter is, because gamers do. According to Steam, around 12 percent of all active players on the platform regularly use a controller.
Over the past year alone, Steam hosted more than three billion gaming sessions that included a controller. Four years ago, that figure was just 99 million.
As mighty as they keyboard and mouse may be, it is simply not ideal for every situation. Valve said more than half of RPG players prefer a controller, and sports games that use a ball are played with a controller more than 80 percent of the time.
Are you at all surprised by Value's Steam controller usage stats? I typically reach for my keyboard and mouse when playing most PC games, but some like sports / driving titles just feel more natural with a quality gamepad (or in the case of a racer, a proper racing wheel). What about you?