11/21/2025 [Steam Input] - Controller does not respond unless connected after the game has launched not before

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

Currently after connecting my DualSense to Steam, running Gyro calibration, launching Deadlock while still connected I cannot get a single response out of the controller to the game unless I hold on the "Options" button that loads the in-game Menu but cannot control anything other than unpausing with the same button. When I restart the game the controller works as it should, sometimes requires 2 restarts. Started happening for about 2 days now from 11/05/2025.

Windows 11, Beta Steam Client, DualSense with latest firmware from the PlayStation Accessories App. Official Flick Stick + Gyro Layout provided by Valve with a few tweaks to optimise controls.

PATCH NOTE 11/21/2025 Feedback - Newest update has not addressed this input issue, still a big problem launching Deadlock with a controller connected and getting 0 response with Game Actions unless the controller is connected after launching Deadlock. 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless has this issue more consistently than Sony DualSense.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

Bumping this as its gotten worse, other games in Steam Input respond to controls immediatley but Deadlock takes several restarts to get working, this varies on controller to controller, DualSense takes 1 restart, my 8bitdo Ultimate Wireless 2 has taken about 10 now and barely responds unless I hold the start button and only that opens the menu, it worked 1 time randomly but can't get it to work since.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

It seems like Deadlock does not respond to the Game Actions on some boots but does on others, when changing the inputs bound to keyboard and mouse instead the game responds to the controller, the only Game Action that works is holding "start" to open the in-game Menu but none of the Menu Game Actions work.

It's really weird because sometimes the game will respond to the controller in 1 out of several restarts so I'm trying to figure out what is causing this to happen as its purely random to get a succesful launch with the Game Actions Layout.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

Overall the DualSense reacts more often than my 8bitdo Ultimate Wireless 2 (which is a shame because I like that a lot more than the DualSense) in Deadlock, in 1 test I disconnected the controller, booted the game then connected the controller and it worked but I can't prove this was a solution or just random success.

I think the official Valve Game Actions are not picking up controller inputs unless a very specific connection requirement is met that its looking for, either Steam overlay needs confirmation of the controller at all times or it doesn't scan for controller inputs on startup to turn them into Game Actions because like I said earlier if you bind every single button to a keyboard input instead of Game Actions the game will work with a controller normally. Deadlocks Game Actions are so much better than standard KBM binds so I hope this is resolved soon, thank you.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

I found a temporary solution from previous testing yesteday, like the last comment in my testing I have to launch Deadlock then connect the controller and the Game Actions will work properly. This way it works every time, this only happens in Deadlock but its possible this is an issue in other games on Steam that use Game Actions instead of Xinput/KBM binds but it could just be Deadlock.

I hope if there's anyone on the team looking at this constant spam of comments to this problem (that probably less than 0.001% of users care about) that this helped and it would be appreciated if this is updated eventually. Thanks again.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

Bumping to make sure a developer is aware of this as I posted this in EU timezone

 

[runneypo]

I have the same issue: 8Bitdo Pro2 and Dualsense.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

Bumping as of patch 11-21-2025 this issue is still happening, 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless is producing this issue every time whereas Sony DualSense it's only some of the time.

Again to clarify when using Game Actions controllers do not respond in-game when launching Deadlock with a controller already connected, temporary solution is to connect the controller after the game has launched to be able to play with a controller.

 

[DeadlockerBenReporting]

Bumping as I've tested Nintendo Switch Pro Controller as well now and this time it is severe for this controller, I cannot get it to respond to any inputs except the "Menu" action like other controllers and the temporary fix to connect the controller after the game has launched instead of before does not work on the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller at all. This is such an annoying issue.