Please remove the tag "general controller"; it's a red herring. Notice e.g. when you're seeing a cutscene, the input device is irrelevat.

Thanks beforehand.

Yes same for me with XBox controller via Bluetooth connection.
Steam V1737514353 on Debian 12

Same in archlinux with Nintendo Switch Pro controller connected with USB.

Steam client version: 1737514353

Can confirm, same issue
Archlinux, using DualSense connected via USB
Steam version: 1737514353

I suspect this is the cause. In the Steam Client Update notice on Jan 20, the section Linux has the following line:

Fixed a case where Steam could permanently inhibit the screensaver if it crashed while holding the screensaver lock.

Same, with their very own Steam Controller ...
Mint 22, steam_client_ubuntu12 version 1737514353

Also noticed when running through CLI now get a spamming of:
CAbsoluteMouseMode::UpdateHaptics

Same here on Debian trixie (testing), with xbox one s controller via usb, client ver 1737514353

Same here with a DualSense controller (USB connected) on OpenSUSE, real Steam no flatpak.
I tried changing to the beta version of the client : didn't changed anything.

I'm pretty sure I have this issue since the last update 21 january 2025.

Related: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/5607

@TTimo: I wonder if you could relpace the tag "General cotroller / Steam input" with something appropriate? Thanks beforehand.

Based on all the user comments, the tag does seem appropriate? Controller input in steam flatpak used to prevent the screensaver from activating, and now it doesn't. It seems like sitting idle at a game (menu, cutscene) also no longer prevents the screensaver from activating.

The comments also suggest this is not specific to steam flatpak.

Can someone experiencing the issue please post your steam logs (this is normally part of the issue template):

tar -zcvf ~/Desktop/steam-logs.tar.gz ~/.steam/steam/logs

Also, can you try running the following command in a terminal on your system and paste the output:

gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.SimulateUserActivity

Note, you might need to install gdbus and also make sure that you run it from a terminal session that has dbus access. E.g. an ssh session might not work without some extra setup.

I'm currently unable to repro either in regular steam or in flatpak steam. I also verified that org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver is available from the sandbox environment manually:

[andres@andres-dev ~]$ flatpak run --command=sh --devel com.valvesoftware.Steam
[📦 com.valvesoftware.Steam ~]$ gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.SimulateUserActivity
()

This leads me to believe that the issue might be that org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver might not be available in the systems where it repros. The logs and the command from the previous comment would be useful to determine if that is actually the case.

1. My logs: logs.zip

2. Terminal output:

[📦 com.valvesoftware.Steam ~]$ gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.SimulateUserActivity
Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NotSupported: This method is not part of the idle inhibition specification: https://specifications.freedesktop.org/idle-inhibit-spec/latest/

Perhaps a freedesktop issue?

FWIW, I haven't touched Flatseal beyond adding permission to read from my Documents directory. My Session Bus section for Steam looks like this:

for me happen with palworld, no in other games, i use series x elite

Off work, and had a chance to read some of the documentation at https://specifications.freedesktop.org/idle-inhibit-spec/latest/.

I thought I'd naively try the Inhibit() method. So I called org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.Inhibit with the strings "com.valvesoftware.Steam" and "just testing"as inputs and got this:

[📦 com.valvesoftware.Steam ~]$ gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.Inhibit "com.valvesoftware.Steam" "just testing"
(uint32 1560349379,)

I understand from the docs that it returns a uint32 "cookie" that is supposed to be passed to the UnInhibit() method later.

In any case, it doesn't appear to do anything, since Steam is still not inhibiting the screensaver while playing with a gamepad.

@benkei-kuruma can you also run the gdbus command outside of a flatpak container

@benkei-kuruma can you also run the gdbus command outside of a flatpak container

aaron@aaron-fedora-desktop:~$ gdbus
Usage:
  gdbus COMMAND

Commands:
  help         Shows this information
  introspect   Introspect a remote object
  monitor      Monitor a remote object
  call         Invoke a method on a remote object
  emit         Emit a signal
  wait         Wait for a bus name to appear

Use “gdbus COMMAND --help” to get help on each command.

@benkei-kuruma Sorry, I meant the full thing:

gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.SimulateUserActivity

aaron@aaron-fedora-desktop:~$ gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.SimulateUserActivity
Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NotSupported: This method is not part of the idle inhibition specification: https://specifications.freedesktop.org/idle-inhibit-spec/latest/

Thanks, it looks like gnome doesn't support this feature. So we'll need to use the old method in that case.

The error message @benkei-kuruma got at least gives a descriptive reason. Under Debain 12+Gnome 43.9 i just get a Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NotSupported: This method is not implemented

Yep, same as @3ronco, Mint 22 with Cinnamon 6.2.9 returns the

gdbus call --session --dest org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver --object-path /ScreenSaver --method org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver.SimulateUserActivity
Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NotSupported: This method is not implemented

The newest beta client has a fix for this. If you still run into the issue, please attach your logs with your reply:

tar -zcvf ~/Desktop/steam-logs.tar.gz ~/.steam/steam/logs

Here to report that that I no longer experience this issue in the current beta client. I just tested several games in my library for about a half hour to be sure, and the screensaver was inhibited throughout.

Thank you @lostgoat for addressing this issue so quickly!