Steam Adds Native Support for PS4 DualShock Controller
By Boston Blake 11 October 2016
During Steam Dev Days, Valve engineer Jeff Bellinghausen reveals Valve will be adding native support to Steam for the PS4 DualShock controller in the near future.
Yesterday kicked off Steam Dev Days, where game developers and gamers come together to discuss everything happening in the world of PC gaming, from new and upcoming games, to technical advances and challenges. During the event, Valve engineer Jeff Bellinghausen took to the stage to discuss some good news for PC gamers who own PlayStation 4 controllers.
According to Bellinghausen, Steam will soon offer native support for Sony’s DualShock 4 controller, allowing gamers to use the highly regarded controller without the need for third-parties. Additionally, the team at Valve is working to offer similar support for other gaming controllers in the future.
During his presentation, Bellinghausen provided a few details for why Valve chose to start with the DualShock 4 controller. Bellinghausen said:
Believe it or not, when you use the PS4 Controller through the Steam API, it’s exactly the same as a Steam Controller. You make the exact same API calls, you only get actions, not inputs, and the Steam API takes care of everything.
The DualShock 4 controller has both an internal gyroscope and touchpad, both features that are also available on the Steam Controllers available from Valve. According to Bellinghausen, these two features played a major role in why Valve chose to offer native support for the DualShock 4 controller first.
Many PC gamers have already been using the DualShock 4 controller to play games on their PCs, but have had to use third-party support to do so. With this change from Valve, the connection between the controller and Steam games should be smoother and offer a fuller range of features. It should also allow for additional customization not available through third party services.
While Bellinghausen said the update will be coming soon, he didn’t provide a solid date for when PC gamers can expect the feature to go live. Additionally, while he said additional controllers will also be receiving the native support treatment in the future, Bellinghausen didn’t name any other controllers.
With the recent drop in price of the Steam Controller, it seems the decision to provide native support to additional controllers is a good move by Valve. While there will still be gamers who order the Steam Controller at its reduced price of $35, many others will opt for a DualShock 4 or other familiar controller. The move to offer native support at least offers Valve an opportunity to control connection between game and console.
What do you think about Valve offering native support for the PlayStation DualShock 4 controller?
Source: Steam (via Gamasutra, IGN)
