The PlayStation 5's release date is still more than one week away, but some players are already getting their hands on the brand new DualSense controller. While some of these fans will certainly choose to leave their controllers boxed until they receive the next-gen consoles, others may want to try them out in advance. Fortunately, players can do this quite easily by using their DualSense to control games on PC, and this guide provides a complete walkthrough.
The first step to using a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller with a PC is to connect it to the machine, and that can be done in two primary ways. The first is to simply use a USB cable to plug the controller into the PC. Players that are intending to use this method will need to make sure that they have a cable with a USB-C connector, though, as the DualSense is not able to receive micro USB connectors and the like.
Alternatively, fans that have outfitted their PCs with Bluetooth can connect the DualSense wirelessly if they prefer. To do this, players should first hold down the PS and Create buttons on the controller until its lightbar begins to blink, indicating that it is ready to make a connection. PS5 fans should then navigate to their PC's Bluetooth connections and add the "Wireless Controller" that appears there to complete the pairing of the DualSense.
At this point, players will want to setup their controllers, and that is only possible through Steam at the time of writing. Specifically, fans should navigate to the General Controller Settings section of Steam's Settings menu and look to the list on the left side. At the bottom of this list players will see a "Detected Controllers" section, and they should select the controller found here and click "Define Layout."
This will take fans to a new screen that features a table with two columns: one for Commands and one for Buttons. Players must now work their way through this table, assigning buttons on the PS5 controller to the designated commands, and they can back out of the menu when that has been done. If handled properly, fans should now find that their DualSenses are working perfectly, and they are free to use them to play their favorite PC games from there.
To note, while players can only perform this sort of configuration through Steam right now, it is very likely that other launchers will support the DualSense in time. For the time being, though, fans that prefer to use launchers like the Epic Games Store may want to hold off on connecting their new PS5 controllers to their PCs.
The PlayStation 5 releases November 12th/19th depending on region.