Gamers using game controllers for PC gaming has tripled since 2018 — Steam survey shows Xbox controllers make up 59%

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Controller use on Steam has tripled to 15% since 2018, and 10% of those users are on Steam Deck

Xbox wireless controller
Xbox wireless controller (Image credit: Microsoft)

Valve continues to push Steam Input and Steam Deck to encourage more gamepad use on PCs. Last week, they announced some milestones related to this, mainly that 15% of all Steam sessions now use a controller and 10% use Steam Decks. These statistics are available in an official Steam News post.

Controller usage has tripled since 2018 (used to be at 5%); 42% of those controller sessions use Valve's Steam Input layer, and Xbox controllers make up 59% of those controller sessions, making them the most popular controller on Steam. Xbox is the leader of the pack in PC controllers, which makes sense considering how long XInput has been standardized. While support for other vendors has improved significantly in newer titles (esp. PlayStation ports), most games assume you use Xbox layout if you're on a controller.

Valve's news post also highlights recent significant changes to Steam, even on PC, to improve controller support further. These include a Big Picture Mode update that makes it near-identical to the Steam Deck's UI, improvements to controller configuration and gyro aiming functionality, adding Deck Steam Input's virtual menus to Steam on PC, and better driver support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers in general.

Valve's post also mentions the Hori Steam Controller, which it seems is being officially dubbed the Horipad for Steam and is currently still a Japan-exclusive release. A few days after Valve disclosed the new controller statistics on Steam, they also dropped a new Steam Deck Top Played list, which locks in on games being played on Steam Deck and serves as an effective shorthand for how Valve is targeting the console market.

To the surprise of probably no one except Epic Games' Tim Sweeney, for example, the Kingdom Hearts series launched on Steam last month to gangbuster sales after being available on Epic Games for over a year. Matching this, the KH 1.5+2.5 HD ReMix compilation is in Steam Deck's Top 10 Most Played, which recalls the days of Kingdom Hearts spinoffs rather than full remasters being restricted to handheld platforms.

Today, even a humble handheld PC can offer experiences on par with modern consoles, particularly if you're willing to optimize your experience. Steam and Steam Deck even have super-accessible, highly-performant in-game recording functionality now! Valve continues pushing for a yet-bigger place in the PC market via ambitious projects like Steam Deck and Valve Index.

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ezst036
    I prefer a USB game controller over a mouse/kb combo in pretty much every instance.
    Reply
  • umeng2002_2
    For Souls and racing games, a pad is a must.
    Reply
  • CmdrShepard
    ezst036 said:
    I prefer a USB game controller over a mouse/kb combo in pretty much every instance.
    Must have something to do with aim assist I guess.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    CmdrShepard said:
    Must have something to do with aim assist I guess.
    A mouse is aim assist....the best there is.
    It's all about how you "learn" to game, you prefer what you grew up with.

    Although yeah, as someone above said, driving games need an analog stick if you can't go for a wheel.
    Reply
  • CmdrShepard
    TerryLaze said:
    A mouse is aim assist....the best there is.
    I am talking about aim assist function in FPS games.

    For mouse you can turn it off and even use raw mouse input. You ain't going to hit much with controller if you turn it off (provided that the game has an "Off" option to begin with).
    Reply
  • halfcharlie
    umeng2002_2 said:
    For Souls and racing games, a pad is a must.
    Lol at Souls simply untrue, DS1/DS2/DS3/Sekiro/Elden Ring/Lords of the Fallen/Lies of P/Armored Core VI etc completionist here all on kb/m. I can obviously control the camera a lot better with a mouse which is a large benefit.

    Really unless all those people are playing racing games or fighting games they're doing it wrong, kb/m is always superior otherwise. I use kb for racing too anyway even though I do think a controller would be better, everything from NFS to GRID to DiRT to Horizon, probably will continue to until I have a wheel one day, still gets the job done just have to feather the keys. Hell I played the last three Devil May Cry games with kb/m. I grew up with consoles first (and played Demon's Souls first on PS3 as well as my first playthrough of DS1) and still own one, but there's no substitute for a keyboard and mouse straight up.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    halfcharlie said:
    Really unless all those people are playing racing games or fighting games they're doing it wrong,
    Couch gaming my dude, or even just being able to sit back and not have to be hunched over the kb/m all the time.
    Reply
  • TheyCallMeContra
    halfcharlie said:
    Lol at Souls simply untrue, DS1/DS2/DS3/Sekiro/Elden Ring/Lords of the Fallen/Lies of P/Armored Core VI etc completionist here all on kb/m. I can obviously control the camera a lot better with a mouse which is a large benefit.

    Really unless all those people are playing racing games or fighting games they're doing it wrong, kb/m is always superior otherwise. I use kb for racing too anyway even though I do think a controller would be better, everything from NFS to GRID to DiRT to Horizon, probably will continue to until I have a wheel one day, still gets the job done just have to feather the keys. Hell I played the last three Devil May Cry games with kb/m. I grew up with consoles first (and played Demon's Souls first on PS3 as well as my first playthrough of DS1) and still own one, but there's no substitute for a keyboard and mouse straight up.

    also a Devil May Cry player and I find this point VERY contentious. playing third-person action games on KB/M is fundamentally different in lots of ways, especially with a game like that where so many move inputs are reliant on a held lock-on button or several seconds of held attack button (charge shot, etc)...now for shooters I agree KB/M is obviously the best, and those camera control boons are real, but I wouldn't play games like that without anything but my Elite Series 2 and its 4 back paddles, personally.
    Reply
  • ezst036
    TerryLaze said:
    Couch gaming my dude, or even just being able to sit back and not have to be hunched over the kb/m all the time.

    Couch gaming.

    Reply
  • lordmogul
    I have a controller on my rig.
    I have one for 20 years now.
    How would steam determine if I play steam games with it, or just some NES emulation?
    They can't know if I play games with it or just have it plugged it. It's less about gamer using game controllers and more about gamers owning them.

    And you don't even have to use them for games. Very easy to use the buttons as hotkeys for stuff like Photoshop or as diy streamdeck. So one could have a controller, but never plays games with them.
    Reply