The PS5 is pretty much impossible to find right now, but the DualSense controller is fairly easy to find. And, thanks to a recent Steam update, you don’t even need a PS5 to get the most out of Sony’s innovative peripheral.
If you have a gaming PC and a few Sony-adjacent games, those will do just fine as well. The DualSense now has complete Steam compatibility, and while not every game will be fully compatible, any game that takes advantage of a common Steam developer tool will be.
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The information comes from an official Steam blog entitled, simply enough, “Steam Input API Adds PS5 Controller Support.” Likewise, Steam’s full DualSense integration sounds similarly straightforward:
“All games currently using the Steam Input API are now fully compatible with the new PS5 controller - with no developer updates required, it just works,” the post reads. “Full support for the LED, trackpad, rumble and gyro features are available for players to configure in games such as Death Stranding, No Man’s Sky, Horizon: Zero Dawn and more. This support is now available for players opted into the public beta Steam desktop client with platform wide support targeted to ship after further testing.”
In other words. full DualSense support is now available in any Steam title that employs the Steam Input API. This includes a handful of big, hit games that were also popular on Sony systems, as well as an unspecified number of smaller titles. If you want to enjoy full DualSense support right away, you’ll have to use the public beta Steam desktop client (Settings – Account – Beta participation, if it’s of interest to you.) That’s pretty much all there is to it. As the next few months unfold, we’ll likely learn about a lot of different Steam games with full DualSense integration.
Fans who have gotten some hands-on time with the DualSense will realize right away why this is potentially a big deal. The DualSense has unusually sophisticated haptics and gyros — it can even mimic different weights in different parts of the controller. Being able to enjoy these features on PC could ease the sting of not being able to find a PS5, or even let PC developers experiment with whole new control schemes.
As far as the Steam Input API itself goes, it’s a software package for developers that allows them better Steam integration with relatively little work. Among other things, it integrates controller support for a variety of PC games and lets players remap buttons through the Steam client itself. The bottom line is that the Steam Input API makes controller integration easier on PCs, so it’s no surprise that the DualSense is getting full integration on the platform.
If you don’t feel like joining the Steam beta, full release will probably happen within the next few months, so stay tuned to see what PC games can benefit from the DualSense.
