You use InputMapper to turn your DualShock 4 into an Xbox controller, but in Steam games everything presses twice, Steam’s own controller settings keep interfering, or the game behaves differently from the same title outside Steam. That is the InputMapper and Steam Input conflict: two mappers trying to translate the same controller at the same time. The good news is that Steam gives you exact switches for this, and this guide shows you each one, from the global setting down to the per-game override.
If the doubling happens in every program and not just Steam, your problem is more likely an unhidden physical controller — start with our double input fix. This guide is for the Steam-specific case and assumes InputMapper itself is set up as in how to use InputMapper.
Why Steam Input Fights InputMapper
Steam Input is Steam’s own built-in controller mapper. When it is active for a PlayStation controller, Steam reads the physical DualShock 4, applies its own configuration, and presents the result to the game. InputMapper is doing a parallel job at the same moment: reading the same pad and presenting a virtual Xbox 360 controller through ViGEmBus. A game caught between them can receive Steam’s output, InputMapper’s output, or on bad days both, which is why symptoms range from double inputs to dead buttons to a controller layout that changes between the Steam overlay and the game itself.
Only one mapper should own the controller for any given game. For InputMapper users, that means Steam Input must be switched off in the right places — plural, because Steam has a global PlayStation switch, Big Picture settings that mirror it, and a per-game override that beats both.
Fix 1: Turn Off PlayStation Configuration Support
The classic conflict switch is PlayStation Configuration Support in Steam’s controller settings. When it is on, Steam treats a connected DualShock 4 as its own to configure, which is precisely what an InputMapper user does not want. Open Steam settings, find the Controller section, and turn PlayStation Configuration Support off.
Restart Steam after changing it, reconnect your controller, start InputMapper before launching a game, and test a title that previously doubled. For many users this single switch ends the conflict, because Steam now leaves the physical pad alone and the game simply sees InputMapper’s virtual Xbox controller like any non-Steam game would. While you are in Steam’s controller settings, leave the equivalent support options for controller types you do not use with InputMapper as they are; change only what this conflict needs.
Fix 2: Set Steam Input to Forced Off Per Game
If a particular game still misbehaves, use the per-game override, which is the most surgical of Steam’s switches. In your Steam library, open the affected game’s properties, go to the Controller section, and set the Steam Input option to Forced Off. That game will then ignore Steam Input entirely and take its controller input directly — which, with InputMapper running, means from the virtual Xbox pad.
Per-game control is useful because it lets you keep Steam Input available for other titles where you actually prefer it. Apply Forced Off to one affected game, test it thoroughly, and only then repeat the setting for other games with the same symptom. If Forced Off fixes a game that the global switch did not, the game was probably using a stored per-game setting that predated your global change, which is common in libraries built up over years.
Fix 3: Check Big Picture Controller Settings
Steam’s Big Picture mode has its own controller settings screens, and configurations there can apply to your games even if you normally launch them from the desktop client. Open Big Picture, go to its settings and controller options, and confirm that PlayStation configuration support is off there as well and that no Big Picture controller configuration is being forced onto your games.
This check matters most if you ever use Big Picture — for example on a living-room PC — because it is easy to enable a setting in that interface once and forget it exists. After changing anything in Big Picture, fully exit and restart Steam before retesting, so no cached configuration from the previous session survives into your test.
The Reverse Case: When Steam Input Alone Is Better
Be honest about the alternative: for a library that lives entirely inside Steam, Steam Input alone may be the better tool, with no InputMapper involved at all. It is built into Steam, maintained, and applies its configurations per game automatically. If you rarely play non-Steam games and do not need InputMapper’s specific profiles, removing one mapper from the equation entirely is a legitimate solution, not a defeat.
Our full comparison of InputMapper vs Steam Input lays out where each one wins. The deciding factors are usually where your games live, whether you need one consistent Xbox pad outside Steam, and whether you are using a controller Steam handles well on its own. What you should not do is run both at once and hope the game sorts it out — that is the conflict this whole page exists to end. A comparison with the other dedicated mapper is also available in InputMapper vs DS4Windows if you are reconsidering your whole setup.
Important Caveat: Non-Steam Games Added to Steam
Adding a non-Steam game to your Steam library does not remove it from this conflict — it can import the conflict into a game that was previously fine. If Steam Input is active, launching that shortcut through Steam can let Steam map the controller on top of InputMapper for a title that never had a problem when launched directly.
Two practical rules follow. First, if a non-Steam game works perfectly outside Steam, keep launching it outside Steam, or set its per-game Steam Input option to Forced Off in the shortcut’s properties just as you would for a native Steam game. Second, when a previously fine game starts doubling right after you added it to Steam, suspect the shortcut before you suspect InputMapper, your drivers, or the game itself. Removing the game from Steam, or forcing Steam Input off for it, should restore the original behaviour immediately.
Putting It Together
The reliable InputMapper-plus-Steam routine is short: PlayStation Configuration Support off globally, Big Picture settings checked once, Forced Off applied per game wherever a title still resists, and InputMapper started before Steam games launch. Follow it and Steam becomes a neutral launcher that simply starts games, while InputMapper owns the controller for every one of them. More conflict and detection fixes are collected in our troubleshooting hub, and quick answers live in the InputMapper FAQ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my controller double-press only in Steam games?
Steam Input is mapping your controller at the same time as InputMapper, so Steam games receive two translations. Turn off PlayStation Configuration Support in Steam settings, and if a game still doubles, set its per-game Steam Input option to Forced Off in the game’s library properties.
What does Forced Off mean in Steam controller settings?
Forced Off tells Steam to apply no Steam Input mapping to that specific game. The game then reads controllers directly, which for InputMapper users means it sees the virtual Xbox 360 controller InputMapper creates, with no second mapping layered on top.
Do Big Picture settings affect games launched from the desktop?
They can. Big Picture has its own controller settings, and a configuration enabled there can apply even when you launch from the desktop client. Check Big Picture once, make sure PlayStation support is not enabled there, and restart Steam afterwards.
Should I just use Steam Input instead of InputMapper?
If all your games are in Steam and you do not need InputMapper’s profiles or a consistent virtual Xbox pad elsewhere, Steam Input alone is a reasonable choice. Just do not run both mappers on the same controller at once, which is what causes the conflict.