How to use a PS4 DualShock 4 to play PC games

When Sony first announced that the Dual Shock 4 would work with Windows, PC gamers across the internet cheered in unison. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly a plug-and-play situation quite yet. While it’s true that the PS4′s controller is recognized by Windows right out of the box, existing games don’t automatically work with the new game pad. Thankfully, there is an open source application available that maps the Dual Shock 4′s controls directly to Microsoft’s X Input API — effectively tricking games into thinking you’re using an Xbox 360 controller.

To get started, head on over to the PCSX2 forum, and grab the latest version of DS4Tool. Unzip the folder, and stash it somewhere memorable. Inside the DS4Tool folder, navigate to the “Virtual Bus Driver” folder, and open the “ScpDriver” executable.

From here, you’ll simply need to click the “Install” button. Once everything is finished, close the window, and connect your Dual Shock 4 to your PC over USB or Bluetooth. Keep in mind, the USB method is much more reliable, and some Bluetooth chipsets aren’t supported with this software. If you’re having issues, default to the USB connection, and close out all other applications.

Navigate back to the DS4Tool folder, and launch the “ScpServer” executable. At this point, the DualShock 4 should be recognized in the application, and it should function identically to an Xbox 360 controller in most cases. However, some oddball applications have some compatibility issues, so you might end up needing to tick the “Hide DS4 Controller” box in some cases. Otherwise, the standard functions are completely operational.

If you’d like to customize your experience a bit, click on the “Options” button, and you’ll be brought to a window filled with sliders. Here, you’ll be able to change the color and intensity of the DS4′s light bar, switch the light bar to a battery indicator, tweak the rumble settings, and enable the DS4′s touch pad to control the mouse pointer.

Keep in mind, this is still a work in progress. Currently, you need to manually launch this program every time you want to play a game. It’s a bit of a hassle, but that’s certainly going to be fixed in a future release. Also, this software is designed to mimic the Xbox 360 controller, so the built-in gyroscope and accelerometer are nowhere to be found. If you’re looking for seamless integration, you need to either buy a PS4, or wait for PC games to begin shipping with native DS4 support.

If you already use an Xbox 360 controller on your PC, there’s no reason to switch to a Dual Shock 4 right now unless you overwhelmingly feel the DS4 is more ergonomic. Getting everything up and running takes a bit of effort, and it’s still prone to bugs and hardware incompatibility at this stage. Most gamers shouldn’t bother taking the plunge just yet, but this is a viable interim solution for anyone dead set on playing PC games with Sony‘s new controller.