An Xbox or PlayStation pad, an old joystick or a racing wheel can all work with old games, but often not on the first try. Most problems come from the way the game reads the controller: find out which, then pick the fix below.
This page is about PC games, DOS and Windows 95 to XP. For other machines, the emulator handles the controller: see the end of the page.
Why a modern pad misbehaves
Old Windows games read controllers through DirectInput, and games from 2005 on through XInput, made for the Xbox pad. Each one handles the other's controllers badly.
- An Xbox pad in an old game: both triggers share one axis, so pressing both is the same as pressing none, and there is no rumble. Microsoft made it work this way on purpose.
- Another pad in a newer game: a game that only reads XInput does not see a PlayStation, Switch or generic pad at all.
- Games older than DirectInput, from the Windows 95 years, use an even older system, WinMM, which only sees a simple joystick.
Start with the Game Controllers panel
Windows still has its old controller panel. Many old games only use the first controller in its list, so check it before anything else.
Press Win+R, type joy.cpl and press Enter. Click Advanced, choose your controller as the Preferred device, then OK. To calibrate it, select it, click Properties, then Calibrate in the Settings tab.
The easy way: Steam Input
Steam can make almost any pad work in almost any game, even games you did not buy on Steam. It is free, and often the quickest fix.
In Steam, open Games > Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library, and pick the game program. Start the game from Steam: Steam Input now handles your Xbox, PlayStation, Switch or generic pad, and can turn its buttons into keyboard keys for a game with no controller support. It needs the Steam overlay to run, and it replaces the game's own controller settings.
An Xbox pad in an old game: Xidi
Xidi makes an Xbox pad look like the controllers old games expect, with separate triggers if you want them. It is free and still updated.
Copy its files next to the game program, as its getting started guide explains: one for DirectInput 8 games, one for older DirectInput games, and one for WinMM games. Xidi needs Windows 10 or 11 and the Visual C++ 2022 runtime, which our Windows guide covers. Its settings decide what the triggers do: two buttons, or two separate axes.
Another pad in a newer game: x360ce
x360ce does the opposite: it makes a PlayStation, generic or old pad look like an Xbox pad, for games that only read XInput. It also works with joysticks and wheels.
Version 4 creates a virtual Xbox pad: start it, set up your controller, then minimize it, because the game only sees the pad while x360ce runs. If the game sees both pads and every press counts twice, hide the real one with HidHide. Version 3 works another way: run it in the game folder, and it puts two files there. Take the 32-bit version for old games.
PlayStation controllers
Use Steam Input first. Without Steam, DS4Windows makes a PlayStation pad look like an Xbox pad for every game.
Many copies of DS4Windows found online are old forks that nobody updates any more. The one still maintained in 2026 is the hbashton fork, which handles the DualShock 4, the DualSense and Switch pads. DSX, sold on Steam, is the paid choice.
Games with no controller support
Some old games only know the keyboard. A small program can turn the buttons and sticks of your pad into key presses.
- JoyToKey (shareware): easy, with a trial that has no limits. The licence costs $7.50.
- AntiMicroX (free, Windows and Linux): open source. Its authors are looking for a new maintainer, but it works.
- Steam Input, above, does the same for free.
Racing wheels
Old racing games expect the two pedals on one axis: gas one way, brake the other. Modern wheels give each pedal its own axis, so the game may see only one pedal.
- Logitech wheels: Logitech G HUB has a Combined Pedals option, at least for the G923, made for old racing games. Turn it off again for modern games.
- Other wheels: build a virtual controller with the pedals merged. vJoy creates the virtual controller (take this signed version, which works on Windows 10 and 11), and Joystick Gremlin merges the two pedal axes into it. Hide the real wheel from the game with HidHide, then choose the virtual controller in the game.
- A game that sees the wheel but cannot set its axes: in DxWnd, tick Hook dinput for the game. A reader solved several racing games this way.
- Old wheels: the USB SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel works with the driver built into Windows 10 and 11, but its own software does not.
HidHide and Logitech G HUB do not always get along: if your Logitech wheel loses its force feedback, check HidHide first.
Old gameport joysticks
The joysticks of the 90s used the 15-pin gameport of the sound card, which modern PCs do not have. A USB adapter brings them back, but it must be the right kind.
A simple cable cannot work: the adapter must contain a small circuit. Cheap ones handle plain analog joysticks only. The Necroware GamePort Adapter, an open-source project you build yourself, also handles the digital SideWinders, the Gravis GamePad Pro, the ThrustMaster FCS and Logitech's gameport sticks, without force feedback.
DOS games in DOSBox
DOSBox shows your controller to the DOS game as an old PC joystick. Most games then ask you to calibrate it: do it in the game.
In the configuration file, the joysticktype setting in [joystick] decides what DOS sees: auto, 2axis for two joysticks, 4axis for one stick with four axes, fcs for a ThrustMaster FCS, ch for a CH Flightstick. Use fcs or ch only if the game supports that stick. Press Ctrl+F1 to open the mapper and bind your pad's buttons and axes. The DOSBox Staging manual lists every setting.
Emulators
For consoles and old computers, the emulator handles the controller, and most of them recognize common pads by themselves.
In RetroArch, known pads are set up automatically. To change a binding, open Settings > Input > RetroPad Binds > Port 1 Controls. In MAME, press Tab, then Input Settings. Our page about multi-system emulators covers both.
I need help!
We do not provide support for running abandonware games. PCGamingWiki has a page for many controllers, and the Vogons forums know the old joysticks and gameports well.
Tell them which game, which controller and what happens: you will get an answer much faster. Have fun!
Checked in October 2026 against each tool's own documentation and GitHub page, Microsoft's pages and PCGamingWiki. This guide was drafted with the help of an AI assistant and checked by hand before publishing. If something here is out of date, tell us.