Valve Says Steam Deck Won’t Suffer From Stick Drift

Valve has confirmed that it does not expect the new Steam Deck handheld device to suffer from the same analogue stick drift that has plagued the Nintendo Switch since its launch.

Over the last few years, many fans have complained about the analogue sticks of the Nintendo Switch deteriorating over time, affecting the accuracy of input and causing false movements in games.

This was also a major concern following the unveiling of the Steam Deck, as it features a very similar design. However, Valve has since explained that its analogue sticks have been designed to be both robust and reliable.

“We’ve done a ton of testing on reliability, on all fronts really – and all inputs and different environmental factors and all that kind of stuff,” hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat said in an interview with IGN.

“I think we feel that this will perform really well. And I think people will be super happy with it. I think that it’s going to be a great buy. I mean, obviously every part will fail at some point, but we think people will be very satisfied and happy with this.”

Part of the reason Valve is more confident the Steam Deck will not suffer stick drift appears to be because the company have used more durable materials to construct the device.

Fans should be able to get their hands on the Steam Deck in December 2021.