An update on Steam Input and controller support

Hello!

More players than ever are choosing to play Steam games with a controller, and we thought it would be a good time to share some stats about controller usage on Steam along with an update about Steam Input.

Stats: Controller use on Steam

• Since 2018, daily average controller use has tripled from ~5% to up to 15%
• ~42% of these controller sessions are using Steam Input
• During that time, the controller landscape has changed:

  • 59% of sessions are using Xbox controllers
  • 26% are using PlayStation controllers
  • 10% are on Steam Decks

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As usage has grown, our team has continued working to improve and add features to enhance the controller experience for these players. Here are some of the new features we’ve shipped for Steam Input and controller users recently:

• Big Picture update – complete redesign of the controller first experience on Steam, bringing the Steam Deck user experience to the big screen
• New controller configurator – rethought and simplified configurator to set, manage, and edit controller bindings
• Gyro aiming– overhauled and improved experience for controllers with gyro, implemented Flickstick functionality in Steam Input
• Virtual menus – added support to the desktop client
• PlayStation Controller support – We worked with Sony to improve support for PS controllers including DualSense Edge, and can now automatically support future 3rd party licensed PlayStation gamepads
• Xbox Controller support – We shipped a driver for Windows allowing us to better support Xbox One controllers, including the rear buttons on the Xbox Elite Controllers

One of the benefits of Steam Input is that when it’s implemented in a game, players can use any one of over 300 supported controllers to play. We also recently added support for the new HORIPAD for Steam [hori.jp](available in Japan later this summer), and worked with HORI’s team to make their controller work well with Steam Input.

The team is continuing to work on Steam Input and controller support on Steam, and we are always looking for feedback. Let us know what you think in the forums.