48 Million Steam Gamers Now Use Controllers
Steam, powered by Valve, has often been referred to as the hub of PC gaming, powering titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). The tactical FPS shooter often has over one million players on the game through Steam, and is one of the most played mouse and keyboard games in the world.
Despite the MnK community flocking to Steam to play either CS:GO, Dota 2, new titles such as Apex Legends, or some more niche games supported by the site, controller players have arisen. According to Valve, controller players take up approximately 10% of their player base, meaning roughly 48 million gamers jump on Steam with a pad in hand.
In a recent blog post on Steam, Valve claimed that :"48 million players have used a controller in a game on Steam, with about 10 per cent of daily game sessions being played with a controller". This figure has more than doubled since 2018.
Click to enlargeThe rise in controller usage can be put down to a number of reasons, one being the diverse range of games that Steam now host. Apex Legends and Rocket League's introduction to the platform goes a long way to these figures, whilst Grand Theft Auto players also frequently use pads.
The genres hosted on Steam also play a part. RTS games are dominated by MnK with the controller statistics "frequently below 1 per cent". However, Valve added, "many sports and fighting games see over 70 per cent of sessions played with a controller, while racing and skating games can easily have over 90 per cent of players using a controller."
The controller seems to be on the rise, although it might only be a matter of time before MnK fights back in other areas such as Call of Duty whose elite league took one step in that direction by switching to a PC/controller combination.
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