The Xbox Game Pass PC library gives you access to hundreds of games, but if you’re playing with a PS5 DualSense controller, Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem creates an immediate problem: Xbox Game Pass titles are built expecting XInput signals.
When you connect a DualSense over Bluetooth or USB, Windows registers it as a generic DirectInput device instead. Titles downloaded through the Xbox App, Forza, Halo Infinite, Starfield, and similar, will either ignore your controller entirely or show broken button mapping.
DS5Windows (DSX) bridges that gap by translating your DualSense’s signals into a virtual Xbox 360 controller, letting Game Pass titles read it as native Xbox input.
Why Game Pass Specifically Needs This
Unlike Steam, which has its own built-in controller remapping through Steam Input, the Windows Xbox App runs games packaged as Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps or protected MSIX containers. These packaging formats are more locked down than a typical Steam install, so workarounds that work fine for Steam games (like adding a non-Steam game entry) often don’t apply here. Running DSX at the driver level, rather than trying to work around the Xbox App itself, is what makes it work reliably.
Installing the Required Components
You’ll need three things installed before Game Pass titles will pick up your DualSense correctly:
- DSX itself, get the current version from its official Steam page
- ViGEmBus, required to generate the virtual Xbox 360 controller signal, from the official GitHub release page
- HidHide, essential here specifically, this hides your physical DualSense from the Xbox App so it doesn’t read both the real and virtual controller at once, also from its official GitHub release page
Our Drivers page walks through installing both ViGEmBus and HidHide in more detail if you haven’t set them up before.
Building an Xbox Game Pass Profile
- Open DSX, go to the Profiles tab, and create a new profile, name it something like “Xbox Game Pass” so it’s easy to find later.
- Find the emulated controller setting and set it to Xbox 360.
- This part matters: always use Xbox 360 emulation for Game Pass titles specifically. Selecting DualShock 4 emulation instead tends to cause Microsoft Store games to lose the controller connection or fail to recognize input at all, since these titles are built around XInput, not DirectInput-style PlayStation emulation.
- Save the profile and assign it to your controller.
Preventing Double Input with HidHide
Xbox Game Pass titles scan for connected hardware at launch. If your physical DualSense isn’t hidden, the game can end up reading both the real controller and DSX’s virtual one at the same time, showing up as menus skipping two items per press, or buttons flickering between states.
Steps
- Open the HidHide Configuration Client.
- Under Devices, find your DualSense (usually listed under Sony Interactive Entertainment) and check the box to hide it.
- Under Applications, add DSX to the whitelist, this is what allows DSX specifically to still read the physical controller while everything else only sees the virtual one.
- Enable hiding. You should see a lock icon confirming the physical controller is now cloaked from other apps.
A Note on Polling Rate
You may see older guides suggesting you can manually set a Bluetooth polling rate inside DSX to reduce latency. That’s not accurate, DSX’s developer has stated directly that the app doesn’t include any polling rate override setting, it simply reads the controller as fast as the connection allows. Over USB, the DualSense typically defaults to a much higher polling rate than Bluetooth, which naturally runs somewhat lower and can vary depending on how many other Bluetooth devices are competing for bandwidth nearby. If low input lag matters a lot to you, a wired USB connection is the more reliable way to get it, not a setting inside DSX.
Deadzone Adjustments
If you’re noticing camera drift or unwanted stick movement in first-person Game Pass titles, a small deadzone adjustment in your stick settings usually helps. There’s no single correct value here, it depends on your specific controller and how much stick drift it naturally has, so it’s worth adjusting gradually and testing rather than copying an exact number from a guide.
Launch Order That Actually Works
To avoid the Xbox App latching onto the wrong controller signal, it helps to follow a consistent order:
- Connect your DualSense first, over Bluetooth or USB.
- Launch DSX and confirm your controller shows as active with the Xbox Game Pass profile assigned.
- Open the Xbox App.
- Launch your game.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Game ignores the controller completely: Check that your DSX profile is set to Xbox 360 emulation, not DualShock 4, and confirm HidHide is actively hiding the physical controller.
Menu skips two items per press: This is the double-input issue described above, make sure DSX is whitelisted in HidHide’s Applications list and that hiding is enabled.
Xbox button prompts show up instead of PlayStation icons: This is expected and not a bug, Game Pass titles don’t have native PS5 icon sets, so Xbox prompts (A, B, X, Y) map to your DualSense’s Cross, Circle, Square, and Triangle.
Steam seems to be interfering: If Steam is running in the background, right-click it in your system tray and exit it before launching Game Pass titles, Steam Input can sometimes compete for the same controller signal.
If you’re still running into issues after working through these, our Troubleshooting guide covers broader connection problems, and our FAQ page answers a lot of the other common DSX questions.