Steam Deck Beta Re-enables Wired Switch 2 Controller Support

It is a universal truth that PC gamers will inevitably try to plug every peripheral they own into a single device just to see if it works. Valve seems to understand this impulse better than most manufacturers.

As detailed in a new update post, Valve has pushed a fresh Steam Deck Client update to the Preview/Beta channel. The headline feature for those of us who juggle multiple ecosystems is the return of wired support for Nintendo Switch 2 controllers. The changelog notes that this support has been "re-enabled," implying the feature was temporarily pulled in a previous build.

Crossing the Streams

The update, dated December 30th, is brief but significant for players who prefer Nintendo's latest hardware. While the Steam Deck has excellent built-in controls, the flexibility of Steam Input allows users to dock the system and use practically any controller on the market. Re-enabling wired support for the Switch 2 pad ensures that early adopters of Nintendo's new console can use their controllers on PC without waiting for Bluetooth driver updates or wireless dongles.

This kind of cross-compatibility is exactly why we track SteamOS updates. In a walled-garden industry, seeing a competitor's brand-new controller working natively on Valve's hardware via a simple USB cable is refreshing.

Simulating Stability

The update also includes a specific fix for a classic military simulator. According to the patch notes, Valve has fixed a "missing registry key error" that occurred when running Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead.

"Fixed missing registry key error when running Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead."

It is comforting to know that even in 2025, we are still dealing with registry errors for games released in 2010. Arma 2 remains a staple for a specific subset of the simulation community, and this fix ensures the standalone expansion launches correctly on the portable device.