While the DualShock 4 can be used for PC games – Sony have even released an official accessory to ensure that players can use the PS4 controller on PC – for most PC games, the support is almost hacked in, using a variety of workarounds. For instance, the in game HUD will only ever display prompts for the Xbox controller, not the PS4 controller’s symbols and shapes, leaving players to figure out what button they should be pressing when as they play their games.
However, that will be changing soon- as Gamasutra are reporting, at Steam Dev Days yesterday, Valve’s Jeff Bellinghausen said the company is slated to release an update to expand Steam Controller configurability options to include DualShock 4. In simple terms, this means that the DualShock 4 will soon be officially supported by Steam.
Co-presenter Lars Doucet was pretty enthusiastic about this too, noting, “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 PS4 controller will be added first because its gyroscope and touchpad makes it easy to translate Steam Controller APIs to it- however, Valve did indicate that support for other controllers would be coming soon, too.
I can’t wait to use the Wii U Gamepad on PC myself, personally.