I wish people stopped spreading misinformation like this.
No the controller works for any game, outside of steam, without steam launched.
The only restriction is that to configure the controller, you need steam.
Otherwise, you can select a profile for desktop use that is mkb or a generic gamepad, and run your games through that. Of course, you won't have many of the modern features, since XInput does not support anything fancy. Want these features on your controller (not just the steam one, the 8bitdo, the switch 1/2, etc..) you will need modern input API... which are provided by Steam!
There was and probably will be third party applications to configure the controller outside of Steam. It is NOT a walled garden at all and imo, the best of both world.
This contradicts all reviews I've read, but good if true.
Either they changed something, but that's how it worked for the previous controller and how it works on the deck. Haven't received mine to test, but I would be surprised if they nerfed the controller without Steam.
Of course you won't have modern input controls, since you'll be left to either MKB or XInput which lacks gyro and more.
To be frank, it sounds like you are also spreading misinformation. In a follow-up you even said that you have not received yours to test and that you are only assuming based on the previous steam controller.
But your comment here is very definitive and is a major problem at how quick we are to defend Valve when we don't actually know.
> No the controller works for any game, outside of steam, without steam launched.
Can you provide any evidence for this claim?
That's how it worked with the original controller, and how it works with the steam deck.
Like I said, it won't have all the modern features as it will be stuck on a MKB profile or a Xbox gamepad profile (or whatever you configure). But it will work
I still use the original steam controller, and I can tell you this is not true. If steam is not launched, the controller runs in a keyboard/mouse emulation mode and is not detected as a controller. This behavior is hardcoded in the firmware and cannot be changed.