How Do I Install DS4Windows Properly In 2026, And Do I Still Need It?

The confusion is understandable, because DS4Windows has changed hands several times. It started with Jays2Kings, was maintained for years by Ryochan7, and the most active recent fork was by schmaldeo. That schmaldeo repository was archived in March 2026 and is now read-only. The program still works; it simply will not get new fixes from there.

What DS4Windows does is present your PlayStation controller to Windows as a virtual Xbox 360 controller, using a driver called ViGEmBus. That is why it asks for ViGEmBus, and it needs the Microsoft .NET 8 Desktop Runtime to run. Both prompts are normal.

Safety comes down to the source. Download only from a fork's own GitHub releases page. Mirror sites with big download buttons have a long history of bundling modified files, and there is no reason to use them.

Now your brother's point. For games you launch through Steam, Steam Input supports DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers directly, with remapping, gyro and touchpad options. In that case DS4Windows adds nothing, and running both can cause double input. DS4Windows still earns its place for non-Steam games that only understand Xbox controllers.

If you do use it, one more tool matters: HidHide hides the real controller from games so they only see the virtual one. Without it, some games read both and every press counts twice.