Thanks to a new update, Steam users can use their Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers to play their PC games. While Valve’s online gaming store and software platform is primarily meant to work with designated PC controllers (such as Valve’s discontinued and legally challenged Steam Controller) or Xbox-branded gamepads, players have found ways to connect various other controllers to Steam, like the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller or the Nintendo Switch’s classic-style Nintendo Online controllers – the latter of which was added last month alongside a host of older Nintendo and Sega controllers from the 16-bit era and beyond.
However, one outside-the-box controller that has remained incompatible with Steam for a long time was the Nintendo Joy-Con, a multi-form controller that contains several surprising features to optimize gameplay on the Nintendo Switch. Players can use the Joy-Con’s two detachable components as a pair of motion controllers, hold one of them as a more traditional NES-style controller, or attach them to the Switch’s designated touchscreen for gaming on the go. While Nintendo Switch owners have reported issues with the Joy-Con’s joysticks drifting out of control (leading to a series of lengthy lawsuits with Nintendo and several updates), the Joy-Con remains the default controller for the Nintendo Switch – and many users have even figured out how to rig older Nintendo systems like the handheld Game Boy Advance so that they can be played with a Joy-Con.
Now the Nintendo Joy-Con can be used to play Steam games. Earlier this week, the latest Steam Client Beta update was launched, as reported by VG 24/7. In addition to improving support for the already compatible Nintendo Online controllers, this update introduces support for the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con controllers. The two halves of the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con can be used either individually as mini-controllers or combined into pairs, but only if the player is running Steam on a PC with a motherboard that supports Bluetooth or connected to a standalone third-party Bluetooth adapter.
Steam’s Latest Beta Adds Joy-Con Compatibility
In order to try out Steam’s new Nintendo Joy-Con functionality for themselves, users will need to opt into Steam’s Client Beta program through Steam’s settings. In the wake of this newest update’s announcement, some fans have asked if support for the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con’s HD Rumble feedback will be added to Steam as well, given that such a feature is already available through the PS5 DualSense’s Haptic Feedback. Others have humorously asked about even more outlandish controller options, like being able to use Donkey Konga’s infamous bongo controllers to play Elden Ring as some modders have done in the past.
Not all of the Nintendo Joy-Con’s features will likely be available for use on Steam, particularly the motion controls that are frequently utilized on the Switch. However, Steam users that have always wanted to play their PC games using their Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers will now be able to do so by opting into Steam’s Client Beta and enabling Bluetooth functionality through either a compatible motherboard or a designated adapter.
