Keeping DSX and its underlying drivers current matters for stability and compatibility with newer games. But there’s less manual work involved here than older guides suggest, since a lot of this is handled automatically now.
DSX Itself Updates Automatically
Since DSX is distributed through Steam, Steam handles updating it the same way it updates any other app or game in your library, no manual driver-setup menu, no separate download. If you’re not seeing a feature that a recent guide describes, it’s worth confirming Steam has actually finished updating DSX in the background rather than looking for a manual update process inside the app itself.
ViGEmBus: Nothing to Update
This is worth knowing clearly: ViGEmBus, the driver that creates the virtual controller DSX relies on, is no longer under active development. Its final release remains what everyone currently uses, there isn’t a newer version to update to, and there won’t be one going forward unless that changes. If your version of ViGEmBus is already installed and working, there’s genuinely nothing to do here, chasing an “update” that doesn’t exist can lead to confusion or unnecessary reinstalling.
If you’re troubleshooting a ViGEmBus-related issue (not an update, but a genuine malfunction), reinstalling the existing version can help:
- Close DSX completely first
- Open Windows Programs and Features (press Win + R, type
appwiz.cpl, hit Enter) - Find any existing ViGEmBus entry and uninstall it
- Reboot your PC
- Reinstall ViGEmBus from its official GitHub release page
HidHide: This One Does Get Updates
Unlike ViGEmBus, HidHide is actively maintained, so checking for a newer version periodically is worth doing, especially after a major Windows update.
- Check HidHide’s official GitHub releases page for the current version
- If you’re behind, download and run the newer installer, it should update cleanly over your existing installation
- Restart your PC if the installer prompts you to
Keeping Your Windows Runtimes Current
DSX depends on a couple of Microsoft frameworks that occasionally need their own updates, separate from anything DSX or its drivers control directly:
- Microsoft .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime (x64), available from Microsoft’s official download page
- Visual C++ Redistributable (2015–2022), also from Microsoft directly
If either prompts you to “Repair” during installation, that’s normal and safe to accept, it typically means the existing installation had a minor inconsistency that the installer is fixing.
Before Making Any Driver Changes
A few habits reduce the chance of something going wrong while updating:
- Close DSX and any game launchers (Steam, EA App, Epic, Xbox App) before touching drivers directly. These can hold onto controller-related processes in ways that occasionally interfere with a clean driver install.
- Reboot after driver changes, even if not explicitly prompted. Some driver updates don’t fully take effect until Windows has restarted.
- Don’t chase updates that don’t exist. As covered above, ViGEmBus specifically has no new versions coming, spending time hunting for one is time better spent elsewhere.
If Something Breaks After an Update
DSX won’t open after a Steam update: Try verifying the game files through Steam (right-click DSX in your library, Properties, then the option to verify integrity of game files), this can catch a corrupted update download.
Controller stops being detected after a Windows update: This is more often a driver conflict than anything DSX-specific, reinstalling HidHide and confirming ViGEmBus is still present (per the steps above) resolves this in most cases.
Everything seems installed correctly but nothing works: A full reboot, closing everything and restarting your PC rather than just relaunching DSX, resolves more of these situations than people expect, since some driver-level changes genuinely need a fresh boot to take hold properly.
If none of this resolves your issue, our Troubleshooting guide and Drivers page cover broader connection and installation problems that might be the actual underlying cause.
Why Older Update Guides Don’t Quite Apply Anymore
A lot of circulating advice about updating controller mapping software assumes a standalone, manually-downloaded tool, extract a zip, run an installer, hunt for driver updates on GitHub individually. That workflow made sense for older, portable-style software distribution, and still applies to things like HidHide, which genuinely is distributed that way. But DSX itself moved to Steam distribution, which changes the maintenance picture significantly, updates you don’t have to think about, verified file integrity checks built into the platform, and no risk of accidentally grabbing a stale or tampered installer from a third-party mirror. If you’re following an older guide that describes manually updating DSX through an in-app driver menu, that guide is likely describing a workflow from before the Steam transition.
A Simple Maintenance Habit Worth Keeping
Rather than actively hunting for updates on a schedule, the more practical habit is simply keeping Steam itself updated and occasionally checking HidHide’s GitHub page every month or two, since that’s the one component in this stack that still requires you to notice and act on new releases yourself. Everything else, DSX through Steam, ViGEmBus being static, is largely set-and-forget once correctly installed the first time.