Steam Controller Is Worthless For Xbox Game Pass Users, Here's Why

Yesterday Valve confirmed the Steam Controller’s leaked release date of 4 May, and while its spiffy new hardware certainly looks exciting it has a massive problem.

While Xbox and PlayStation wage war with each other Steam stands firm as one of the undisputed Kings of gaming, and it’s now dipping its toe into the console market.

The Steam Machine is yet to receive a release date as Valve is apparently weighing its options. The RAM and SSD shortages have wreaked havoc on hardware prices for months now and it’s left the company second guessing its initial approach.

Like some sort of expensive peace offering though the Steam Controller is days away from launch, and it’s quite an impressive bit of kit. Shame Xbox Game Pass subscribers won’t be able to use it straight-away.

Steam Controller And Xbox Game Pass Are Incompatible

PC users have been studying Valve’s new Steam Controller to assess whether it’s worth buying.

It’s currently priced at $99 but before you put your wallet away that’s actually a great deal compared to Xbox and PlayStation’s hardware offerings.

The haptic trackpads leave it a cut above the rest and with more functionality than the Xbox Elite and PlayStation Pulse controllers Valve looks to be onto a winner with this one.

However one problem that PC users simply can’t ignore is its incompatibility with Xbox Game Pass, at least initially.

Xbox

It’s been pointed out that the controller has no built-in Windows drivers, which means any game it’s used with has to be run through the Steam application.

This presents a problem as Xbox Game Pass on PC is run through its own application, which your shiny new controller won’t work with.

Basically your hundreds of Game Pass games will be unplayable with the $99 controller you just bought, unless you buy them again through Steam.

Obviously this will turn away a lot of would-be customers but all is not yet lost.

How To Fix The Steam Controller’s Compatibility Issues

Valve is unlikely to fix this issue themselves but tech-savvy PC owners can tweak the controller manually to hopefully make it compatible with Xbox Game Pass.

Old versions of the Steam controller also had limited functionality outside of the Steam application but a free online tool called GlosSI managed to correct the problem.

Given time it’s likely GlosSI will be updated to support this new Steam controller, or an alternative tool will be created specifically for it.

Alternatively Proton could in theory be used to make it compatible outside of Steam, similar to the Steam Deck when you’re trying to use it in desktop mode.

There’s bound to be some workaround eventually but if you’re buying the new Steam Controller specifically to use with Xbox Game Pass on PC get ready to tinker a bit.

In the meantime gamers are now turning their attention to the Steam Machine, as we eagerly await news on both the release date and its price.

READ MORE: Steam Machine Release Date Gets Positive Update Following New Valve Hardware