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How to use a PS5 DualSense controller on PCMaking sense of it all
Making sense of it all
With its comfortable design, grippy thumbsticks and satisfying adaptive triggers, Sony’s DualSense controller is one of the best gamepads around. Unfortunately, figuring out how to use the PS5 controller on PC takes a little more effort than simply plugging and playing: an effect of it relying on older, less widely-supported APIs than more naturally Windows-friendly Xbox controller.
With any luck, this could improve now thatSony has launched a firmware updater appfor Windows. This is a handy tool just for keeping the PS5 DualSense controller up to date, but could also be a sign that Sony is getting more serious about making it work more smoothly on PC. In the meantime, check out the guide below – it will tell explain, in simple steps, everything you need to know about using the DualSense controller on PC, including how to work around compatibility issues and which games enable its haptic feedback and adaptive trigger features.
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As hard as theSteam Controllerflopped, it has left a legacy of some very extensive controller support across Valve’s platform. You can even connect a pad with no official Windows drivers – like the PS5 DualSense – and Steam will translate inputs so that games can understand them. It’s basically emulating an Xbox controller, which is why some games will keep showing Xbox button prompts when you have a PlayStation controller connected.
Speaking of which, you’ll first need to get the PS5 controller hooked up to your PC. You can do this with a wired connection, or over Bluetooth.
How to connect a PS5 controller to a PC (wired)
To connect, you literally just need to plug in the cable at both ends, and that’s the physical side sorted. All that’s left is to set up on Steam, so skip the following section to see how that’s done.
How to connect a PS5 controller to a PC (wireless)
The PS5 controller can connect to PCs via Bluetooth, so naturally you’ll need some kind of Bluetooth receiver for a wireless connection. All gaming laptops and quite a few motherboards have Bluetooth built in, as do some Wi-Fi cards. If your rig lacks Bluetooth capability, you can find USB receivers on Amazon from about £7 / $10. Once you’re all set, follow these steps to connect:
Step 1:See the little upwards-pointing arrow at near the right edge of the Windows taskbar? Click that, right-click on the Bluetooth symbol, then click “Add a Bluetooth Device”.
Step 2:Check that Bluetooth is enabled, then click “Add Bluetooth or other device”. In the next window, hit “Bluetooth”. Your PC will start searching for devices to pair with.
How to set up a PS5 controller on Steam
Under the Controller tab you’ll find the “General Controller Settings” menu, so open this and Steam will list the PS5 pad among its detected controller. Be sure to check “PlayStation Configuration Support” as well; when you return to the Controller tab, this will let you create custom button layouts, including separate layouts for Steam’s desktop and Big Picture modes.
One last thing: Once your controller is connected, double-check your Windows sound settings. The PS5 controller has a built-in speaker which Windows can mistakenly select as your main audio output device. This would sound terrible if the speaker worked on Windows, which it doesn’t, but you may need to change the output device back to your desktop speakers or headset if you want to hear any sound at all.
Which PC games support the PS5 controller?
Because the PS5 controller can effectively piggyback on Steam for controller support, it should work with every game in your Steam library, including the ability to rebind button inputs. Not every game will actually understand that it’s a PlayStation controller, though. While some games will display the appropriate, Sony-specific button prompts – Square, Triangle, R1 and R2 etc. – others will rely on Steam’s emulation, and will thus believe you’re using an Xbox controller. Display prompts and bind settings will therefore appear if they were the buttons on Microsoft’s controller.
Luckily, Steam handles all this so that a button press on your PS5 controller is treated as a press on the corresponding Xbox controller. The PS5’s Circle button, for instance, will be treated as the Xbox controller’s B button, so you can still play games without any missing inputs. You’ll just need to remember which PS5 button matches which Xbox button, so here’s a quick guide:
Outside of Steam, PS5 controller support is… inconsistent. Again, it usually comes down to whether a game recognises the DirectInput driver, or relies on Microsoft’s XInput alternative. For example,Apex Legendsrecognises both, and works great as a result, complete with all the correct button symbols and standard vibration support. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Control, which is only interested in XInput, and as such won’t even recognise that the PS5 controller is connected.
How to use a PS5 controller on PC with emulation
Now, there is a workaround to this that doesn’t involve too much technical hoohah. It involves using Ryochan7’s DS4Windows app, which can emulate the more widely-supported Xbox 360 controller using your PS5 controller’s inputs. Here’s how to install it:
Step 2:Open up the extracted folder and run the “DS4Windows” executable and choose whether to install the app’s files in Program Folder or Appdata. Picking Appdata will make things a little easier.
Step 3:Click “Step 1: Install ViGEmBus Driver”. Read through and agree to the terms, then wait for the drivers to finish installing. If you’re on Windows 7 rather than Windows 10, you’ll also need to click “Step 2: If on Windows 7, Install 360 Driver” after ViGEmBus is installed.
Step 4:Back in DS4Windows, click “Finished” at the bottom.
With DS4Windows up and running, you should have much better luck using your PS5 controller in natively unsupportive games, even if they use Xbox 360 controller prompts (again, see the list above for corresponding PS5 buttons). I haven’t tested this on every PC game in existence, but the previously uncooperative Control worked well enough with a PS5 controller once DS4Windows was in play.
Which PC games support DualSense features?
Two reasons to put up with the DualSense controller’s patchy PC game support are its haptic feedback vibration and adaptive triggers. The latter is a particularly neat improvement over Sony’s old DualShock controllers: their resistance dynamically increases or decreases contextually with in-game actions. Drawing a bow, for example, might make the trigger feel heavier, while F1 2021 – which uses the triggers for acceleration and braking - raises and lowers resistance according to the weight of your car and the track surface you’re driving on.
For now, DualSense features are only usable when the controller is connected to your PC via a wired connection; hopefully this will change now that Sony can update its firmware directly on Windows. Frankly, the bigger issue is a scarcity of supportive games, the total of which is still growing but only totals a handful at the time of writing:
If you’d prefer to wait until more games make full use of the PS5 controller’s party tricks, and will be sticking with more conventional PC peripherals, be sure to check out our picks of thebest gaming keyboardsandbest gaming mice. Steam Deck owners can also consult our guide onhow to use Steam Remote Play on the Steam Deckto turn it into a controller for your desktop.
