If you’re a PC gamer who uses a PS5 DualSense controller, then we have some good news courtesy of Valve.
Namely, Steam now caters to this particular controller in more depth, showing which games support the DualSense (as well as the DualShock and Xbox gamepads).
Valve pointed out in an announcement that the controller-friendly hub in Steam now offers an option to filter games by support for any of these controllers (or indeed multiple controllers, should you wish).
So, if you want to see what supports the PlayStation 5’s nifty DualSense controller, all you have to do is click that filter and explore the results.
Another smart touch is that by default, Steam will filter games based on the controller you’ve recently been playing with.
The search function on Steam has also had filters added so you can narrow down the results based on a controller, or you can specify finding games with full controller support (or titles where a gamepad is even preferred).
Furthermore, in your personal games library, any products that do support a controller you’ve used are flagged as such, to bring your attention to this when browsing your games collection just in case you might have missed that. There are also controller filters present here.
If you’ve been mulling over buying a DualSense controller, it’s worth noting that one of the top Black Friday deals we’ve seen is a big discount on these pads (and on some great alternative controllers to boot).
Analysis: Staying in controller
There’s a lot of tweaking to Steam’s interface here, and all of these are really nice touches for PC gamers who happen to have a PS5 and use the DualSense for some titles on Windows. (Or indeed folks who’ve just bought a DualSense for their PC full-stop – and yes, there are gamers who have done this, though note that you aren’t quite getting the full PS5 experience with the nifty bits like the adaptive triggers, though they still work).
How many players use a console controller to play PC games on Steam? Valve also shared some data on this very topic, and we’re told that 12% of the active player base regularly use a controller, so roughly one in eight. Of course, controllers dominate in some games, such as ball sports where predictably enough the majority (over 80%) are using a gamepad. Somewhat more surprisingly, Valve says that with some popular RPGs over half the players are on a controller.
Via T3