Steam Deck stick drift is already a problem for most Deck owners early in its life cycle. Most users have reported their problems online, but Valve finally has an explanation for a problem plaguing something so brand new.
According to a report by PCGamer, Valve has confirmed that the Steam Deck's stick drift is a software issue. It's not hardware-based as some people claim. Because if it was, then it would've flown in the face of Valve's efforts to try to prevent it in the first place.
To fix the stick drift, a firmware update has been recently released to correct something called "deadzone regression." According to Valve UX designer Lawrence Yang, the new update should now fix the problem which was reportedly caused by a "recent firmware update."
Here is Yang's recent tweet announcing the fix:
Hi all, a quick note about Steam Deck thumbsticks. The team has looked into the reported issues and it turns out it was a deadzone regression from a recent firmware update. We just shipped a fix to address the bug, so make sure you’re up to date.
— Lawrence Yang (@lawrenceyang) March 2, 2022
Tech Times recently reported on the stick drift plaguing several Steam Deck users early, who report that the problem is mostly concentrated on the right stick. People are claiming that the problem started appearing only after "light usage," which takes away assumptions that this could be due to stress from playing too much.
Here is a video posted on Reddit showcasing the glitch:
Fortunately, Valve responded in record time to correct the issue, because Steam Deck stick drift could've been something that's hard to recover from.
The Nintendo Switch is quite infamous for stick drift, which is something that Nintendo themselves haven't fixed even five years after the launch of the handheld. Valve answering the call mere days after reports surfaced is proof that they are serious about keeping their new handheld gaming PC around for a while.
Fixing The Steam Deck's Stick Drift Early Is A Master Move
Valve made a lot of beefy claims about the Deck ahead of its launch. They stated that it had enough power to run almost anything on Steam (already proven), but they also said last year that it will not suffer from stick drift like the Switch or even the PS5's DualSense.
In order to ensure that it never happens, the company did extensive hardware testing on the handheld console's analog sticks, as per Deck hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat. Aside from the tests, Valve's engineers and designers deliberately picked parts with "well-known performance records" as the company didn't want to risk corner-cutting, reports PCGamer.
Fortunately, the Steam Deck's stick drift is just a software bug. But even if it was hardware-related, Valve has also covered its bases in that department. Popular repair tool maker iFixit has been contracted to officially sell Steam Deck replacement parts (via RockPaperShotgun), which will be readily available to users who want (or need) to fix their Decks for some reason.
For now, it looks like Valve is pushing almost all the right buttons for the Steam Deck early. But only time will tell if the stick drift (or any other hardware/software problem) will persist in the future.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
