The new FromSoftware title Elden Ring has taken the gaming world by storm, offering an open world coupled with intense combat. Still, some players may struggle if they’re trying to play the title on PC without an Xbox gamepad: Here’s how to set up a PlayStation controller for use with Elden Ring.
First, Steam comes with native support for the PlayStation Controller, which extends to all titles with controller support on the platform. You can verify that this setting is enabled by opening the Steam platform and then clicking on the top-left menu called ‘Steam’. From here go to your settings and click on ‘Controller’ which is the second number from the bottom.
This will open the Steam Big Picture window with all the controller settings: Make sure ‘PlayStation Configuration Support’ is set to Active, noted by a checkmark to the left of the text. Look at the bottom of the list, and you should see a box that informs users about the currently discovered (active) controllers.
Screenshot by Gempur
If your controller isn’t listed here, Steam can’t see it. Make sure the controller you want to use is charged, properly connected to your PC (either via a data cable, or via a wireless dongle), and that the drivers are installed on the device within the control panel. The manager is installed properly.
From here, you’re ready to use the PlayStation controller for your PC, and it will work within Elden Ring. However, it should be noted that Elden Ring does not offer PlayStation button prompts natively on PC. This is unfortunately common oversight in PC development, but there are mods available that will change the cues from Xbox to PlayStation.
These mods, such as the PS5 PS4 Controller UI, require the unpacking and repacking of executables within the Elden Ring: a time intensive and difficult task that would require multiple external applications, as outlined within the above mod. It is possible, but the time required and the configuration involved may put some users off.
