protonscr

Unable to Navigate Steam Store Carousel with Controller on SteamOS/Steam Deck

steamopen Big PictureSteam clientGeneral controller / Steam Input
ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#11814 · opened 2025-03-12 by EmptyVisual · updated 2025-06-02 · 1 comments · github
EEmptyVisual 2025-03-12 github

When browsing the Steam Store on SteamOS or Steam Deck, the horizontal media carousel on game pages (where screenshots and videos are displayed) cannot be navigated using a controller. This issue affects both the Steam Deck's native controls and third-party controllers.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open the Steam Store in Big Picture/Game Mode on SteamOS or Steam Deck.
  2. Navigate to a game’s store page.
  3. Select a media item (like a screenshot or video) to expand it, then attempt to scroll horizontally through the media carousel using the controller.

Expected Behavior:
The controller’s d-pad or joystick should allow horizontal navigation through the carousel.

Actual Behavior:
The carousel does not respond to horizontal input from the controller when a media item is expanded, making it impossible to browse screenshots or videos without using the touchscreen or a mouse. Horizontal navigation works as expected when media items are not expanded.

System Information:

  • Device: Steam Deck OLED
  • OS: SteamOS (tested latest stable and beta version)
  • Controllers Tested: Steam Deck native controls, Xbox controller (Elite S2), DualSense controller

Additional Notes:

  • This issue is specific to the Steam Store’s media carousel; other parts of the store and library interface respond to controller input as expected.
  • As far as I can tell, this issue only occurs in Big Picture Mode.
  • Both d-pad and joystick input are affected by this issue.
ZZereoX 2025-06-02 github

I can confirm I'm able to reproduce this issue. Upon further investigation using the CEF console, the carousel does have gamepad support however it frequently fails to gain Gamepad focus when selecting it (denoted by the class="[...] gpfocus"). The majority of the time Gamepad focus stays on the Store Page (this can be observed by pressing up and down showing highlights for assets in the background). You can force Gamepad focus by tapping on the active carousel item using the touch screen. While the carousel has Gamepad focus, pressing up or down will cause the Store Page to regain focus.

Store page ✅ Carousel w/o gpfocus :x: Carousel w/ gpfocus ✅
Image Image Image

Video

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1b8026c6-7f94-447f-a186-3385a4c0fbd0

There is also a related issue that backing (B) out of the carousel doesn't return you to the Store Page but instead boots you back to the previous screen. I'll enter a separate issue for this. This is now tracked here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/12073

@kisak-valve I confirmed this issue can be reproduce on any Desktop using Steam Big Picture mode, not just the Steam Deck. The Distro Family: SteamOS label can therefore probably be replaced with a Big Picture one. Thanks.

Upstream links