Sony released a dedicated Windows app yesterday to handle the installation of gamepad firmware updates, paving the way for better PS5 DualSense controller support on PCs. Previously, the only way to update a wireless controller was to plug it into an actual PS5 – of course, if you manage to find one in stock, that’s not a problem, but if you bought a standalone controller to play on your PC, that’s not a problem Just bad news.
According to Sony Announcement tweet, you can download the app directly from the PlayStation website. Both 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11 are supported and it’s very easy to use: just connect the controller via USB cable and click through the full steps. The only problem is that you can only update one controller at a time.
This humble piece of software may end up being more important than it appears. While the PS5 controller handled it well, technically it never fully supported playing games on Windows. Steam’s built-in controller support can fill in the gaps, but outside of Valve’s platform, DualSense doesn’t always work because it’s not compatible with Microsoft’s XInput API. Instead, for non-Steam games, it relies on legacy DirectInput systems that some games don’t recognize. There are some workarounds – see our guide on how to use the PS5 DualSense controller on PC – but it’s still a small problem.
Some of the more unique features of the PS5 controller, like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, also have only limited implementation in PC gaming. The total has increased in recent months, but according to the PC Gaming Wiki listing, only 12 games currently support both, and they require a wired connection to do so.
So the hope is that the addition of official firmware updates will allow Sony to directly improve the Windows affinity of its hardware — in turn, encouraging more game developers to bring the PS5 controller’s capabilities to the PC versions of their games. Fingers crossed because it really is a great cushion.
If you prefer something else with haptics, our guide on how to use Steam Remote Play with the Steam platform explains how to turn your handheld PC into a desktop controller.
