Steam has announced the latest updates on its blog, and there is some exciting news for those who use their PlayStation controllers on PC, whether it is DualSense or DualShock. From now on, players will be able to see the games that support these controllers. These features will be available on game pages.
For all you DualShock and DualSense users, navigating the Controller-Friendly section on the Steam Store just got a whole lot smoother. Thanks to the update, you can now effortlessly filter games based on your PlayStation controller of choice, making it a breeze to find games perfectly tailored to your gear.
The search results now feature handy controller-specific options. This means you can swiftly narrow down your game choices based on whether you’re using an Xbox, DualShock, or DualSense controller. No more wading through games that don’t match your gear – it’s all about streamlining your gaming experience.
Some gamers prefer controllers on PC
Valve is tuned in to the rising trend of controller love among PC gamers. They threw out some eye-opening stats, revealing that about 12% of all active Steam players regularly opt for controllers. And it’s not just any controllers – for certain games, over 80% of players embrace the controller life. Think ball sports games or intense RPGs – controllers are the weapon of choice.
Valve’s update isn’t just about numbers; it’s about recognizing the controller revolution on Steam. Last year, they logged over three billion game sessions with controllers, and here’s the kicker – 60% of them used an Xbox gamepad, with 27% opting for the PlayStation gamepad. That’s a significant leap from four years ago when Steam recorded around 990 million sessions. Controllers are officially taking center stage on Steam.
Here is Steam’s official statement(You can find the full announcement here):
Whenever we’re thinking about what areas of Steam to work on, we like to turn to data, especially to note how things change over time and which indicators suggest particular player interests. When we dig into controller usage data, we see a few interesting changes over the past few years.
- There were over 3 Billion game sessions that included a controller in the past year
- 60% Xbox controller
- 27% PlayStation models
- The remaining % is made up of Steam Deck, Switch Pro, and hundreds of other controller models
- The same period four years ago (ending Nov 2019) had 990 Million controller sessions
- 76% Xbox controllers
- 19% PlayStation controllers
- During these four years, PlayStation controllers saw a 4x increase in sessions
