PC Game Pass gives you a large library of games through the Xbox app on Windows, but it has one frustrating quirk for PlayStation controller owners: plug in a DualShock 4 and many of those games simply do not see it. The controller works in Windows, the light bar glows, and yet the game sits on a keyboard prompt as if nothing is connected. This guide explains why that happens, and how InputMapper solves it by presenting your PS4 controller to Windows as an Xbox 360 controller that Game Pass titles already understand.
Why Game Pass Games Cannot See a Bare DualShock 4
The Xbox app and Microsoft Store games on PC expect XInput controllers. XInput is Microsoft’s controller standard, used by Xbox 360 and later Xbox pads, and it is the input language those games are built to listen for. A DualShock 4, by contrast, speaks DirectInput when connected to a PC. It is a perfectly good controller, but it is speaking a different language from the one the game is checking for, so the game ignores it.
This is not a broken driver, a faulty cable, or a setting you missed in the Xbox app. There is no built-in remapping layer in the Xbox app that translates a DualShock 4 into something its games will accept. Until something translates that input at the operating system level, a bare DS4 or DS4 V2 will stay invisible to most Game Pass and Microsoft Store titles, even though the same pad works fine in other software.
What InputMapper Does Differently
InputMapper is freeware from DSDCS, with its final build 1.7.7452.13622 released in May 2020. It takes input from supported controllers — including the DS4 and DS4 V2, Xbox 360 and Xbox One pads, and generic DirectInput and XInput devices used as inputs — and maps that input to a virtual Xbox 360 controller. That virtual controller is created through ViGEmBus 1.22.0, the final, now archived version of that virtual controller driver.
Because the mapping happens at the Windows operating system level, any game that reads XInput can see the virtual pad. The game is not being tricked at the file level and InputMapper is not modifying the game itself. Windows genuinely has an Xbox 360 controller available, and your physical PlayStation pad is driving it. That single mechanism is what makes the same setup work across the Xbox app, standalone games, launchers, and emulators. If you are new to the tool, read how to use InputMapper first for the basic profile concepts, then come back here for the Game Pass order of operations.
What You Need Before You Start
You need a Windows PC, a DS4 or DS4 V2 controller with a USB cable or Bluetooth connection, and current downloads of ViGEmBus and InputMapper. Get both from the download page so you are using the known final builds rather than a random repack from elsewhere. Install ViGEmBus before InputMapper, and restart if Windows asks you to. A wired USB connection is the simplest way to do the first setup, because it removes Bluetooth pairing from the list of things that can go wrong while you are testing.
One honest limit before you begin: DualSense and Switch Pro controllers are not InputMapper inputs. If you are holding a DualSense instead of a DualShock 4, this guide does not apply to that pad — see our separate guide to DualSense on PC for the honest options for that controller.
Setup in the Right Order
The order matters. If you launch the Xbox app before the virtual controller exists, the game may never check for it again during that session. Follow these steps in sequence the first time, and afterwards it becomes a quick routine.
- Install ViGEmBus 1.22.0 and restart your PC if prompted.
- Install InputMapper and launch it. Connect your DS4 by USB or Bluetooth and confirm InputMapper lists the physical controller.
- Create or select a profile with Xbox 360 controller output. This is the profile that tells InputMapper to present a virtual Xbox 360 pad to Windows.
- Start the profile and leave InputMapper running. The virtual controller should now exist in Windows before any game starts.
- Only now launch the Xbox app, choose your Game Pass game, and start it. The game should detect a controller at its menus.
Download InputMapper and ViGEmBus
One clean Xbox 360 output profile handles most Game Pass titles, since they all want an XInput pad. You can add per-game profiles later — see InputMapper profiles — but get the plain profile working first.
Verify the Virtual Controller in Windows
Before blaming a game, verify Windows itself can see the virtual pad. Press the Windows key, type Game Controllers, and open “Set up USB game controllers.” You should see an Xbox 360 controller listed once your InputMapper profile is running. Open its properties and press buttons and move the sticks on your DualShock 4 — the indicators in that panel should respond.
If the panel shows the virtual controller responding, InputMapper is doing its job and any remaining problem is inside the specific game or a double input issue described below. If the panel shows nothing, the profile is not running, ViGEmBus was not installed correctly, or the physical DS4 is not connected to InputMapper in the first place. Fix it at this level first; no in-game setting can find a controller Windows does not have.
Stop Double Input Before It Ruins a Session
A common side effect of any virtual controller setup is double input: the game receives your physical pad and the virtual pad at the same time, so menus jump two steps, characters act twice, or the camera spins. Not every Game Pass title reads the physical DS4, but the ones that check both DirectInput and XInput can show exactly this behaviour.
The fix is to hide the physical controller from games while leaving it available to InputMapper. HidHide v1.5.230 does this job. Our full walkthrough is in the HidHide guide, and the symptom-by-symptom diagnosis is in the InputMapper double input fix. Set this up once and test in the Game Controllers panel and in one game menu before you start a long session.
The Anti-Cheat Caveat You Should Not Ignore
Be straightforward about this: kernel-level anti-cheat systems in some competitive titles can object to virtual controllers. InputMapper creates a legitimate virtual device through ViGEmBus, but an anti-cheat system does not know your intent — it only sees a virtual input device and may block it, ignore it, or in stricter cases treat its use as a reason to restrict play. This varies by game and by anti-cheat vendor, and it can change with updates.
For single-player and co-operative Game Pass games this is rarely an issue. For ranked competitive games, check that title’s current rules and community guidance first, and never assume a virtual controller is guaranteed to be accepted. No honest guide can promise any mapper is 100% compatible with every title or safe from bans, and this guide does not promise that either.
A Note on EA Play Included with Game Pass
EA Play is included with PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate, as EA’s own help confirms. The controller point is unchanged: those PC titles still expect XInput, so have the same InputMapper profile running before you launch them. Do not install a second mapper for EA titles — one mapper at a time avoids conflicts.
Games to Play With Your Pad
Once your controller is working, put it to use. These storefronts regularly bundle controller-friendly games that pair well with a working Game Pass library.
Browse Controller Games on Fanatical
Browse Controller Games on Humble
Affiliate link — see our Affiliate Disclosure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my PS4 controller work in Windows but not in Game Pass games?
Xbox app and Microsoft Store games expect XInput controllers, while a DualShock 4 uses DirectInput on PC. InputMapper bridges that gap by mapping your DS4 to a virtual Xbox 360 controller through ViGEmBus, which those games can see.
Do I need to start InputMapper before opening the Xbox app?
Yes. Start ViGEmBus-supported InputMapper, run your Xbox 360 output profile so the virtual controller exists in Windows, and only then launch the Xbox app and your game. Games often check for controllers only at startup.
My menus are moving twice with every press. How do I fix that?
That is double input — the game is reading both your physical DS4 and the virtual Xbox 360 pad. Use HidHide v1.5.230 to hide the physical controller from games while InputMapper keeps using it, then retest in the game menu.
Is InputMapper guaranteed to work with competitive Game Pass games?
No. Kernel-level anti-cheat in some competitive titles can object to virtual controllers, and acceptance varies by game and can change with updates. Check the specific game’s rules first and do not rely on any promise of universal compatibility.