Valve Releases New Patch for Steam Deck Drift

Valve has stated that it's aware of the control stick drift problem that some Steam Deck users have reported and is issuing a patch to take care of it.

On March 1, some Steam Deck users reported that the control sticks on their Steam Deck were registering movement without any input (drift). The news was particularly concerning since Valve's new handheld console had just started delivering less than a week before. But before you go opening up your Steam Deck to fix it yourself, Valve has a solution: download the latest update.

Reddit user Stijnnl shared a reply from Valve support on the matter, with Steam Deck designer Lawrence Yang issuing a similar statement on Twitter. Turns out the drift problem was caused by the most recent firmware update—which could explain why reports of the issue started popping up around the same time. Yang referred to it as "deadzone regression," which was messing with the calibration for the control sticks.

Fortunately, because the problem was software-related, Valve was able to come up with a patch to fix it rather than requiring physical hardware repairs. The only necessary step is downloading and installing the most recent Steam Deck update. Though as Stijnnl points out, Valve's fix has reduced the device's ability to read much more slight and nuanced movements.

If you have a Steam Deck, you can grab the update now, regardless of whether or not you've experienced any controller drift. If nothing else, it could work as a potential preventative measure. Now, if only it were this easy to address the Switch's drift problems.