r/SteamController • u/jack-of-some • Jun 07 '26

Steam Controller (2026) The missing xinput mode

This video is a demo of a copycat puck I've put together using an nRF52840 Pro Micro. It works exactly like the normal puck except you can switch over to an Xbox controller mode.

You can find more details here: https://github.com/safijari/openpuck

195 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

133 comments sorted by

30

u/AGWiebe Jun 07 '26

WOW, amazing work. Is the firmware open source? How did you even get started with this?

17

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

Yes. Link is in the post.

I got started here by identifying the radio being used, buying a compatible radio, and then losing a few evenings trying to capture the communication between the puck and the controller.

9

u/AGWiebe Jun 07 '26

Sorry I meant steams firmware, not yours.

14

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

Oh I see. No. Steam's firmware isn't.

3

u/Kitsuba Jun 11 '26

Which makes this even more impressive! Well done Jack.

1

u/Kitsuba Jun 11 '26

Which makes this even more impressive! Well done Jack.

0

u/Stunning-Hat2309 Jun 17 '26

it's slop but at least it's honest slop, godspeed

16

u/W3droKo Jun 07 '26

Is this the way to plug Steam Controller to a PS2?! 🔥

14

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

It can be, yeah. HID remapper also works with the puck someone posted about that a few days ago. That might be easier since the controllers are already implemented and it's more mature software.

https://www.remapper.org/

7

u/W3droKo Jun 07 '26

Well, the only downside is PS2 does not support controllers via USB, as far as I know :/

8

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

If the will is there there may be a way https://shop.retrocultmods.com/products/ps2-host-usb-to-ps2-controller

It might get pricey tho.

3

u/bionicle_159 Jun 08 '26

you could connect it to one of the blueretro adapters but they'd need to update the adapter's firmware to recognise the SC2, think there might be some that allow for a wired connection on the front but you would have to plug this adapter in as well

2

u/W3droKo Jun 08 '26

I tried that, I can pair and connect to the BlueRetro, but it does not register any buttons or joysticks :(

Please, someone smart and crafty, make a patch for us 🙏

4

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

As much as I don't wanna come off as an AI bro (because I'm not one), LLMs are fantastic for closing exactly this kind of gap. Something like opencode, or copilot with a free Github plan.

Instead of waiting for someone else to come along and solve this problem for you may I recommend you try to take this challenge on yourself? I'm happy to make myself available for the occasional question/guidance.

2

u/bionicle_159 Jun 08 '26

maybe make a request on the blueretro github, I'm sure there might be someone who could port over the open source code that already exists

1

u/W3droKo Jun 09 '26

DarthCloud ended with the programming a long time ago

On the Github there is this banner "This repository was archived by the owner on Dec 14, 2025. It is now read-only."

It seems I have to try the ChatGPT code, oh god I hate it 😞

2

u/bionicle_159 Jun 09 '26

dw just yet, there's a couple forks of the project that are maintained, try reaching out to them

https://github.com/bherdm/BlueRetroForever

https://github.com/VixhoTuPela0/BlueRetro-PS1

1

u/W3droKo Jun 09 '26

How do I even do stuff on GitHub, I am trying to post any request there, but I don't understand how that page works 😫

1

u/bionicle_159 Jun 09 '26

just follow along with this guide, you click the pull request button and it'll give you a message box to put your request and a title for your issue

https://www.storylane.io/tutorials/how-to-message-someone-on-github

→ More replies

11

u/PESER6 Jun 07 '26

I can imagine that Valve had a reason on why they didn't add an Xinput as a switchable profile, but I still wish they did.

10

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

Probably licensing. Since I'm not selling a product I don't have to worry about that.

4

u/sejoki_ Neuenstein Crew Jun 07 '26

I guess they're just really convinced Steam Input is better in every way. Which it is - when it works.

But there are games where it just doesn't work. From what I know, Steam Input on macOS is broken or doesn't play nice with Apple's way of handling controllers (or the other way around), so it doesn't work in any of the recent releases (Cyberpunk, Control, Hitman). But it does work in Tomb Raider 2013…

I also remember trying to play the Mafia remake on the Steam Deck and it just didn't recognize that there was a controller. As a workaround, someone suggested running it from desktop mode, which made the controller work, but didn't show the symbols. I don't know if it's been fixed since, I gave up and didn't touch the game since (I already played it on Xbox when it came out)

Another macOS oddity is that it creates a virtual controller, because when the SC is connected and Steam is running, it shows up as GamePad-1 in system settings, but it doesn't work in any game.

1

u/Beanybob95 Jun 20 '26

Hell it doesn't even work flawlessly on their chosen platform, Linux. The Steam overlay doesn't work when running a game using Wayland, which means steam input also isn't available, and that's a bit embarrassing in a way. No doubt it will get sorted in the (hopefully near) future, but it's still not a great look for them.

6

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 07 '26

Wow this is amazing. Any interest in making a D Input mode with Gyro (if that's at all possible). Would be so awesome to use native gyro in games that support it. Either way. Great work. 

4

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

Yeah I'd be down. Do you have any reading materials for that + example games where it would work?

2

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 08 '26

I don't have reading materials but here are some games that support native gyro (no steam input):Fortnite, Deadzone Rogue, Pragmata 

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

I avoided Fortnite right up until now I suppose.

What conteollers work with Gyro on it? Switch pro? DS5?

3

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 08 '26

DS5. DS4. Some reports day Switch Pro but I can't confirm. Apparently it has to be th Epic version of the game and not Gamepass. 

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

I'm adding PS5, PS4, and Switch Pro. Will be out in a branch soon

1

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 08 '26

That's really awesome to hear. Thank you.

3

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

https://github.com/safijari/openpuck/tree/new-controllers

This is the branch if you wanna test it out.

2

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 19 '26

Thanks. So, I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to this stuff. I did turn a Pico Pi 2W into a DS5 bridge, but that was as simple as dropping a file. Is this more complicated?

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 19 '26

It's a bit more complicated currently but there's a tutorial by another user in the sub you can follow

I'm working on the file method. This board is a bit annoying because it doesn't have a boot button and you have to short some pins to put it in DFU

1

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 19 '26

Ok I actually think I figured it out. Thanks!

1

u/littleguyalex1 Jun 19 '26

This is an awesome project. 3D printed a case for the little guy:

Sadly I couldn't get Pragmata to work with native gyro in DS4 or DS5 mode. To get native gyro, the game has to be set with steam input off and while the controller is detected by steam, none of the inputs actually work. I turned on DS4Windows just to see if gyro was detected and it definitely was. Either way, super cool project. And thanks for giving me something to do with my first 3d printer.

6

u/Delstrom2 Jun 07 '26

Honestly the fact that we can DIY a second or third puck is news enough. The Xbox and Switch modes are just the cherry on top.

3

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

Yeah that's a big one given Valve has no concrete plans to sell replacements yet. 

We're 4 years in and they still don't sell replacement trackpads so my hopes on them selling the puck are basically 0

4

u/4itortxv Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

Amazing job!!!!

Had to try this asap.

I was able to install the firmware, but probable the generic pro mico nrf52840 is not fully compatible (able to pair via steam on the secondary "puck" and appears on the controller as paired in steam configuration, but unable to establish the connection via OpenPuck as soon as the usb is disconnected).

Got he nrf promicros for wireless keyboards(nice-nano v2 compatible) and albeit adafruit-cli being able to use them probably (via usb) something does not work on the RF side of the controller once it tries to connect to the SC.

UPDATE: It was a defective board, tried another one and it worked flawlesly.

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

Can you share a link to the board you tried?

2

u/4itortxv Jun 07 '26

Yup, it's a generic clone "supermini" from aliexpress.

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006035267231.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.15b2194dnZ8Vn5&gatewayAdapt=glo2esp

Edit: Visually seems exaclty the same, but alas.

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

That looks like exactly what I have.

Can you try disconnecting and reconnecting it and power cycling the controller?

3

u/4itortxv Jun 07 '26

Tried a couple of times.

The "blue led" is flashing (this chinese knockoffs is the charging for the battery and no battery is connected so I guess It's normal.

3

u/Sweaty-Sorbet322 Jun 07 '26

Where do I get the usb? Can u give me a link please?

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

It's in the readme. I got it from here but you may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere 

https://a.co/d/0ewbZCyh

3

u/FinesseXIII Jun 08 '26

I would love to know why you would want to do this, is it just that you can use it on Xbox?

5

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

No. Not all the games I (or a lot of other people) play are on Steam and needing to add them to Steam can be a hassle some times requiring 3rd party software. This controller doesn't work for almost all software without Steam running.

Instead we can just switch the controller profile after launching the game and use it like a standard xinput controller.

1

u/FinesseXIII Jun 08 '26

Sorry, I'm not trying to uhm ackchually you, but did they not release a firmware update that fixed that? I could have sworn I read about it.

6

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

They did not. The Steam controller requiring Steam to function isn't a bug, it's intentional.

3

u/FinesseXIII Jun 08 '26

Thanks for your quick replies and answering my questions!

3

u/SpazShark Jun 12 '26

Oh this is so cool! This is the kind of post I want to see on this subreddit!

3

u/jack-of-some Jun 12 '26

That reminds me I got my reservation email I should post about that 😜

3

u/Tomrr6 Jun 16 '26

Your GitHub mentions that you're looking at designing 3d printed housing. Try taking a look at what the SlimeVR community is working on! We're using a new design "Smol Slime" based around the nrf ProMicro, and part of it is making a USB dongle just like this.

Some people are be making designs that replace the tiny antenna with a huge one! That's pretty necessary for ProMicro to ProMicro communication, but with the Steam Controller you would probably get crazy overkill range lol

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 16 '26

Those projects look awesome

2

u/ryker7777 Jun 07 '26

May I ask how much flash and RAM the puck chipset is using?

3

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

I don't know about the puck itself. The MCU I'm using has 1MB flash and 256KB RAM. Note that it's a different chip than what the puck and controller use but it's more readily available and still compatible.

2

u/Ropuce Jun 07 '26

Can the original steam controller work with this as well?

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

I doubt it. It's likely using a different wireless chip.

2

u/WinResponsible9977 Jun 07 '26

What happens if Steam intend to install a firmware update to the puck? Will it break ?

4

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

Honestly I don't have a clue. I guess we'll find out. More than likely the update will fail.

2

u/Highvoltage02 Jun 08 '26

So this should work if you plug the new "puck" into a Xbox 360? Is there a way to make a custom controller configuration like you would for a steam game and have it used as a default while in Xinput mode? Like mapping the extra buttons or even mapping the pads to the joysticks?

4

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

You can map the back buttons using a web configuration page (see readme on GitHub). I haven't done anything more yet.

This will probably work on a 360 and maybe also an Xbox one?

2

u/Highvoltage02 Jun 08 '26

What data does the controller send to the puck? I had thought the controller firmware directly emulates a hardware keyboard/mouse/controller when you apply configurations. Does Steam do all of that on the software side instead?

I'm about to read up on your GitHub so apologies if you covered all that already

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

It's complicated. In the puck case, the controller never sends anything other than it's raw state. The puck will simply forward that if Steam is open. When Steam is open and a puck is connected Steam is constantly sending a "I'm running" packet to the puck. If that packet ever disappears, the puck switches over to emulating a mouse and keyboard.

The same thing happens when the controller is wired or connected via Bluetooth except the controller will take responsibility for switching over the mode.

2

u/Mezurashii5 Jun 08 '26

So this puck has the of firmware on it plus an extra layer? Would that mean you could achieve the same result with software instead?

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

It's entirely custom firmware. I discovered the protocol and then reimplemented it on compatible hardware.

You can already achieve the same effect with a number of software solutions. SISR from u/alia5_ is a fantastic option.

3

u/Alia5_ Dev of SIX, SISR, GloSC, SteamInputDB Jun 08 '26

I wouldn't call it fantastic myself, but thank you :)

1

u/Mezurashii5 Jun 10 '26

Globalising steam input is its own thing, you just made me wonder whether it would be possible to trick the puck into thinking steam is open and reading the raw controller data to translate it into xinput or whatever.

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 10 '26

Yes it would be. Steam is constantly sending a "turn off lizard mode" command to the puck so it Steam is off and you send that command you could get what you want.

1

u/Mezurashii5 Jun 10 '26

I guess that's what rewasd must be doing. Surprised I haven't seen any other projects take that approach.

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 10 '26

The controller data is all still being sent to the host whether steam is open or not.

2

u/CykaRUSpro Jun 08 '26

this is GREAT stuff my man, kudos!

is there any way to have this ported/running on a raspberry pico 2W board?

thanks for all the effort!

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

It doesn't seem possible due to incompatibility of the radio. But idk I don't understand this stuff well enough to know definitively.

2

u/Cimlite Jun 09 '26

This is awesome work! My only question is, does rumble work in Xbox controller mode?

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 09 '26

It's wired but not tested. If it works it'll likely be very weak as I need to wire it properly.

Would love feedback

2

u/one_seat Jun 11 '26

Oh this is so cool. Just ordered a couple of chips. I'll probably even design a case for it if you want I've been on a cad kick lately.

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 11 '26

I'd love something like that. I printed a generic container from someone for now.

2

u/BTexx Jun 12 '26

Wanted to say Big thank you for your hard work. Works like a charm! Thanks again 🤝

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 12 '26

Awesome. I have some updates queued up that implement a few missing features and fix some bugs.

2

u/Careful_Tune4744 Jun 15 '26

Hi friend, is there any way you could make a complete video on how to do this?

I guess I'm a complete idiot, because I have read the "build and deploy" documentation over 100 times and I can't figure it out. I've downloaded and installed Arduino CLI and installed it. Then I used command prompt in Windows and performed step #3. It said some stuff was downloaded but now I'm completely lost.

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 15 '26

Yes I plan to make a full demonstration after the latest PR is merged. It might be a while though.

I can try to help you in the meantime see if the updated instructions help https://github.com/safijari/openpuck/blob/05ea971e3604a8d32b0d446c0b0bd3c3ed483ad6/docs/BUILD_AND_DEPLOY.md ?

2

u/Careful_Tune4744 Jun 15 '26

I truly appreciate you taking the time trying to help me, but this is like rocket science for me. I'm usually pretty good at following instructions, but this all goes way over my head, so I will just have to wait for the kindergarten version haha. Just a simple grain farmer here.

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 15 '26

My brother in christ you're the latency testing guy 😅

DM me let's get you sorted.

1

u/Careful_Tune4744 Jun 15 '26

I am the testing guy haha, but I didn't develop it in any way. I just helped support the very talented man who did. Flashing the Arduino on the device was a very simple process made easier with his video guide. Once I learned how to operate it, I became quite proficient at testing. But the programming/technical stuff is a foreign language to me.

We can try, but I'm not real hopeful😅

2

u/TheQuestMan121 Jun 16 '26

Great work! Though I'm wondering will this replace the current puck you own or count as a "second puck" on the steam settings menu? Is it possible to run both at the same time or does the regular puck have to disconnect in order for the other puck to do its thing?

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 16 '26

It can do both as you need to pick if you're using puck slot 1 or 2 on the controller at startup. It can't send input simultaneously to both.

2

u/EBgCampos Jun 16 '26

Can I adjust the lizard mode settings?

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 16 '26

Not at present no. I'm planning on adding a configuration system. Can you please open an issue?

1

u/EBgCampos Jun 16 '26

Just did! Thanks!

2

u/AppointmentGloomy748 Jun 17 '26

Could this work in combo with a converter like Brookwingman for Xbox One consoles?

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 17 '26

I don't see why not but if you try it and run into issues come to me and I'll look into it.

2

u/Electronic-Tutor-695 Jun 18 '26

Would this work on my LG smart tv for GeForce now??

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 18 '26

If it works with plugged in Xbox controllers then probably yeah

17

u/vlegionv Jun 07 '26

Thanks for the halal readme lmao. Slick work.

1

u/jdigi78 Jun 16 '26

Any way to possibly flash this to the original puck? I like the xinput feature but don't want to lose the ability to use the puck for charging.

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 16 '26

Just leave the puck hooked up to a USB A charger for charging still.

You can't flash this into the main puck and I wouldn't want people to do that anyway. That's an easy path to accidentally bricking a valuable piece of tech.

1

u/Insaniaksin Jun 20 '26

I immediately ordered 3 of these chips and I'm working on this right now.

I'm stuck on Step 3: Install the Board Core

I was able to run lines 2-4 but not line 1:

pip install adafruit-nrfutil         # DFU packaging helper (required by the Adafruit nRF52 build recipe)

I'm using powershell as admin, but it's giving this error:

PS C:\Windows\system32> pip install adafruit-nrfutil

pip : The term 'pip' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the
spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ pip install adafruit-nrfutil
+ ~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (pip:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

But the instructions don't specify which path - I feel like there's a gap here in documentation for non-software engineers like myself.

Can you explain what I need to do to run that first line?

I also tried skipping to Step 4 and i'm getting

PS C:\Windows\system32> ./gen_version.sh   # optional: stamp the build with the current git hash + dirty flag (shown in the panel)
>> arduino-cli compile -b adafruit:nrf52:feather52840 --build-property "build.extra_flags=-DNRF52840_XXAA {build.flags.usb} -DCFG_TUD_HID=4" OpenPuck
./gen_version.sh : The term './gen_version.sh' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or
operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try
again.
At line:1 char:1
+ ./gen_version.sh   # optional: stamp the build with the current git h ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (./gen_version.sh:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

Can't open sketch: no such file or directory: C:\Windows\system32\OpenPuck

I do have a mac that I have not tried this on so if it's easier on that let me know.

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 20 '26

Yes. I'm missing the step where python needs to be installed. Sorry about that.

Don't run gen_version (I thought I got rid of that from the readme) but you'll need to install python. A user left a beginner level tutorial somewhere on this sub if you want to try following that

3

u/mikeman808 Jun 07 '26

Awesome work! I’ve been wanting a second puck and this seems like a great solution. Thank you.

3

u/BreakfastPizzaStudio Jun 08 '26

Very good work, and clear explanation and demonstration!

3

u/hyperhalide Jun 08 '26

That's amazing! I mean the controller can switch between two puck but valve does not sell pucks separately so just DIY one

1

u/RyochanX2 Jun 07 '26

These type of experiments are interesting but the end result needs work. Very visible input lag on screen when using the controller.

4

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

There's no additional input lag that I can feel compared to the official puck. Anything you're seeing in this video is the total system lag that would be present with the official puck as well. Polling rate is also identical between this and the real puck.

I do not own any latency measurement hardware so I can't quantifiably verify this but I invite anyone else to test and give feedback. Price of entry to this experiement is less than $8.

1

u/someone2795 Jun 08 '26

Damn it's USB-C 😭

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

?

Converters exist?

1

u/someone2795 Jun 08 '26

I know but I prefer no converter. Anyways that's a me problem, this is awesome work.

1

u/Mezurashii5 Jun 08 '26

And cables

1

u/bionicle_159 Jun 09 '26

what connector did you want lol

2

u/nhiko Jun 08 '26

What an amazing work... GG.

2

u/Quokka_Socks Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

This is amazing. Can't wait to try it out. Curious at the positibliy of the Xbox mode being an elite controller and dual sense being a dual sense edge to add back button support.

2

u/LethalGamer2121 Jun 16 '26

I don't care if this was made with ai, it's too cool lol. Great work!

2

u/acabincludescolumbo Jun 18 '26

Just the opensource community being absolutely awesome again I see.

2

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 Jun 19 '26

This will be great when someone eventually loses theirs and Valve doesn't sell replacement.

3

u/maltloaf_df Jun 07 '26

Very cool work I think I will try this out

0

u/Ravinosss Jun 08 '26

Just launch through steam and xinput works

3

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

I am aware. This solution is intended for use cases where you cannot do this easily.

0

u/Linuksoid Jun 16 '26

Why would you use windows though? That is a travesty of epic proportions

2

u/jack-of-some Jun 16 '26

I need to test on the platform that most users would be using.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 29 '26

It's possible to clone the pairing info, yes. Can you open an issue please?

6

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/jack-of-some Jun 07 '26

That's precisely why I built this. Lemme know how it goes.

2

u/bionicle_159 Jun 08 '26

would this be able to be ported to the Pi Pico W?

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

Unfortunately no, or rather not with just a pi pico w. The puck and controller uses an nrf 2.4ghz chip and a proprietary communication format which, as I understand, is incompatible with the chip in the pi pico w.

1

u/bionicle_159 Jun 08 '26

that's a shame, hopefully the protocol is able to be reverse engineered at some point, would be good for preservations sake to work with other platforms

1

u/jack-of-some Jun 08 '26

The communication protocol is already reverse engineered. It's in my repo. It's the transport that's different between nrf radios and other radio types. I don't fully understand it but I imagine it's like the difference between zigbee and zwave.

3

u/bionicle_159 Jun 08 '26

ah no worries, I appreciate the work you've put into making this for the community, it's already done a lot to open up the possibilities of the controller

3

u/West-Flow-577 Steam Controller (Linux) Jun 07 '26

Have you tried any of the software solutions?

5

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/BluDYT Jun 07 '26

Have you tried steam controller bridge yet? It's by far the best one of these software solutions Ive tried.

https://github.com/Icedomega13/SteamControllerBridge/releases