The Steam Controller launched on May 4 as Valve’s latest gamepad, offering a bunch of unique features that help it stand out from the crowd. However, there was one major issue that many users were not happy about. The controller worked best only inside Steam, and outside of Valve’s ecosystem, support was pretty limited. But now, things are finally starting to improve.

Thanks to new SDL Library support, the Steam Controller can now work properly outside of Steam as well. This is a big step forward for users who want to use the controller with other game launchers, emulators, or even mobile devices without relying on Steam running in the background. It may also help deal with the lack of support on Xbox Game Pass.

SDL update adds support for the Steam Controller

For those unfamiliar, SDL stands for Simple DirectMedia Layer. It is a popular cross-platform, open-source library that helps games and applications communicate with hardware like controllers, keyboards, graphics cards, and audio devices. In layman’s terms, SDL is one of the reasons why you can plug many controllers into a PC and start playing without extra setup.

SDL is a popular software library used by commercial games to communicate with hardware. Support for the new Steam Controller was recently added to SDL3 through a new update. This includes support for the controller’s touchpads, haptic feedback, gyroscope controls, grip sensors, capacitive thumbsticks, and updated button mappings.

Following the update, games and apps using SDL can now properly recognize and use the controller even without the Steam client running. This means the controller can now work better with storefronts outside Steam, including other PC launchers and several open-source applications.

Keep in mind that there are still a few limitations. For instance, touchpad features reportedly still need improvements, and running Steam in the background can sometimes create double-input issues because both SDL and Valve’s own controller software try to handle the device at the same time. Still, the overall situation is much better than before.

Steamless Controller is a fan-made alternative

Before we go, we also wanted to give a shoutout to another project – SteamlessController. While the SDL Library will help developers embed better Steam Controller support, SteamlessController gives gamers a more proactive way to deal with the problem, working as an application that sits within your system tray (on Windows) to use the controller outside of Steam.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.