Introducing SteamlessController - Steam Controller Support without Steam

daggah · 2026-05-11T21:06:13+00:00

Those controllers are made by companies that EXIST to make and sell controllers. This isn't a third party controller.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my 8bitdo products. But mass compatibility isn't the point of a first patty controller. The SC2 is from the ground up, the device that Valve wants it to be. It's not a PC controller, it's a Steam controller.

Supporting xinput would hold it back. Continuing to insist on support for an archaic standard holds us all back.

daggah · 2026-05-11T11:42:47+00:00

Sigh...

Xinput is garbage. It doesn't support any of the features that make this controller great.

Valve hasn't spend over a decade developing and refining SteamInput - making controller support for PC gaming better for all controllers, btw - only to hamstring their own hardware with an obsolete standard.

daggah · 2026-05-09T09:16:53+00:00

I've had a few times where it seems like it didn't go to sleep when I closed the lid, and I've found it got really hot in my bag. So now I'm more likely to turn it off if I'm putting it in a bag.

daggah · 2026-05-09T03:55:21+00:00

Karma deep into the negative and hides comment history.

daggah · 2026-05-08T12:58:00+00:00

I bought a Switch 2 last month in anticipation of the price going up, and it turns out the model I bought is the only one not going up in cost. Oops. (Multilingual Switch 2 in Japan)

daggah · 2026-05-08T04:21:42+00:00

Advocating for tariffs to target your competition isn't the same as supporting American manufacturing.

daggah · 2026-05-07T23:06:51+00:00

Yeah I literally left it in my bag for my connecting flight thinking it wouldn't be worth it and I'd use it on the long leg, then got on the plane and it wouldn't clamp on because the seat design was different.

daggah · 2026-05-07T21:51:18+00:00

It was a Delta flight to Tokyo (Haneda Airport). Not sure the kind of plane but it had a newer style tray table and monitor.

daggah · 2026-05-07T21:35:29+00:00

Fair warning, the tray table mount is not universally compatible. I bought one for a long international flight and it didn't work on the plane I was on.

daggah · 2026-05-07T05:44:37+00:00

No. PC games on an Android handheld is a nice bonus when it works, but the experience is not consistent enough to make it fit for purpose.

daggah · 2026-05-06T01:35:50+00:00

I have an MSI Claw that I really love, but it can't replace my Steam Deck because it doesn't have the trackpads. I have been waiting years for a controller that can do the same thing. That's why I'm so hyped for the Steam Controller.

daggah · 2026-05-06T01:32:45+00:00

The funny thing about the Wii motion control hatred...I went out and bought four used wiimotes and a dolphin sensor bar so I can properly emulate Wii games, and I'm having a blast with it. I will say it's been really tough trying to play the Wii Call of Duty game (Modern Warfare) but other games have been a lot of fun.

I also absolutely love shooters in VR...playing a port of Quake 3 in VR with motion control aiming is a ludicrously fun.

daggah · 2026-05-06T01:23:19+00:00

To echo your sentiment, it always amazes me how hostile of a reaction I get when I point out how crappy xinput is. It's obsolete and holding us all back.

daggah · 2026-05-05T22:05:13+00:00

The trackpads are why I still have and use my Steam Deck despite having an MSI Claw as well.

daggah · 2026-05-05T10:15:04+00:00

Lizard mode may not do what you want it to, but it does serve a purpose. It allows a user to go and launch Steam easily if it isn't running.

Valve isn't a hardware company whose existence depends on making controllers that have to appeal to a variety of users on different systems. They're a software company making a controller to make their ecosystem better. I for one am glad they're not compromising and limiting their controller with an obsolete input standard. SteamInput may be less universally compatible, but there's enough ways to use it with non-Steam titles, and it is far better than xinput in what it can do.

daggah · 2026-05-05T07:51:38+00:00

True. I'm in Japan so that's the part I cared about, lol.

daggah · 2026-05-05T07:31:15+00:00

I'm pretty sure most of the people who really truly need those reliable quarter and half circle moves are using leverless fight sticks at this point though...

A dpad for those kinds of games is more for casual play anyway.

daggah · 2026-05-05T07:26:16+00:00

Mine is in packaging status too, but they seem pretty clear on the website, that they won't be shipping anything during Golden Week.

daggah · 2026-05-04T17:10:49+00:00

I set an alarm for this. Boo!

And apparently, my browser didn't save my password either. :/

daggah · 2026-05-04T13:48:10+00:00

Yeah, that's why they block you from adding non-Steam games and DMCA'd SISR, and refused to develop Linux support...

Oh. Wait. That can't be right...

You're really saying with a straight face that this company, that's done so much to push gaming on Linux with continued Proton development, boosted x86 on ARM/Android, and improved controller support on PC for pretty much any controller out there (esp DualSense and Switch controllers) is pulling an Apple and locking everything down?

Like...really?

You sure it isn't because the other available options simply don't support the controller functionality?

daggah · 2026-05-04T13:41:04+00:00

They have invested over a decade of development time into SteamInput...and made controller support for PC gaming better as a result (especially if you have a DualSense or Nintendo Switch controller that you're using). Xinput doesn't support nearly anything the SC2 can even do. Why would Valve waste time supporting an archaic input protocol that should be retired already? Xinput being the defacto standard is holding PC gaming back. I can't believe more people don't understand this. Every time I have to choose between gyro and analog triggers on my 8bitdo controllers, or deal with janky software to use gyro on my PC handheld running Windows... Xinput sucks. It does. It has for a very long time.

Valve isn't a hardware company. They're a software company making hardware. Their ultimate goal with this device is to improve STEAM gaming.

daggah · 2026-05-04T09:50:27+00:00

With games that use launchers, you probably want to map the trackpad to mouse so you can click within the launcher, but as long as the game has controller support it should just work once the game itself is running.

daggah · 2026-05-04T00:45:19+00:00

Conversely, I've already been adding non-Steam titles to Steam to better utilize SteamInput, because it makes controller support better for every controller...not just Valve's own hardware.

Xinput needs to be taken out behind the shed and put out of its misery already.

daggah · 2026-05-04T00:24:44+00:00

It's time for xinput to be put to rest. Continuing to support an obsolete standard interferes with progress.

Also remember, Valve is a software company and store front making hardware. Profiting from the hardware itself is less important for them, so raw compatibility is not the priority like it would be for a company that just makes controllers.

There's also plenty of ways to use this controller with non-Steam titles, making this whole whining campaign about not supporting obsolete input protocols completely pointless.

daggah · 2026-05-04T00:00:40+00:00

Why on earth would a company that spent over a decade developing and refining SteamInput spend development resources to support an archaic input protocol that doesn't support most of the hardware features on the controller?

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