John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 09.08.2023 00:Sep AM EDT

Steam Games To Show PlayStation Controller Compatibility Soon

Steam gamers can soon know if their games can support PlayStation controllers.

Valve announced it is adding a new Steam feature that allows game developers to inform gamers if their game supports PlayStation controllers.

Steam, as of press time, only shows a note on games on its platform if they could support a game controller or not. Whether this controller is a PlayStation or Xbox controller, wasn't made clear.

Gaming Controller Support Specification

Valve's Steam gaming platform supports a variety of games. Some are PC games that gamers could play with gaming controllers, while others are ports of previously console-exclusive games, making the use of a controller more logical and viable.

However, not all controller-friendly games are keen on gamers' use of a PlayStation DualShock or DualSense controller. Whatever the issue is, such an exclusion proves to be a problematic issue for long-time PlayStation gamers who wish to use their controllers for another device.

Thankfully, Valve came up with a solution for that. The company announced that developers would receive a controller-support questionnaire in Steamworks to describe the devices their games support.

Thanks to the questionnaire, developers could now clarify which controllers their games support. If their game plays well with a PlayStation 3/4 DualShock or PlayStation 5 DualSense controller, then they could indicate such information within Steamworks.

The questionnaire isn't limited to PlayStation controllers, with Valve stating that developers could indicate that their game plays well with an Xbox controller instead of a PlayStation one. As a result, PC gamers playing on Valve's Steam platform would know if the game they plan on getting supports what controller.

Specifically, the Steam store and desktop clients will receive updates showing the previously mentioned information on a game's store page. Gamers can also use a filter that will only let them see games that include DualShock/DualSense controller support.

"This is the first step toward helping players find games that support the most commonly-used PC video game controllers," Valve pointed out.

However, the company stressed in its announcement that Xbox controller support doesn't automatically mean support for DualShock and DualSense controllers too. "These two PlayStation controllers are pretty different," the company explained. "If [developers] haven't done specific work to support them, then [their games] almost certainly do not have support for those controllers."

Developers who wish to add controller support to their game can do so with Steamworks' API.

Why The Change?

Valve's new questionnaire may have something to do with the rising number of PC gamers using PlayStation controllers to play games on Steam. According to a report from Engadget, Sony controller usage on Steam has grown from 11% of sessions in 2018 to 27% as of press time.

Additionally, over 87 million Steam users have played at least once using a controller since 2017, regardless of what controller they use.

69% of these Steam users some version of Xbox controllers, while the remaining percent used PlayStation controllers, Switch Pro controllers, and other devices.