Enjoying Marvel Rivals? Roleplaying as heroes from the Marvel universe with your friends is sure fun but this game is surely not free from any issues. Now, if you primarily like to play using a controller and are struggling with it, here we are to discuss the issue. So, keep reading till the end to see if you can fix the controller not working issue that many Marvel Rivals players are facing on PC and Steam Deck.
Some players have reported that while playing the game on their PCs, it randomly stops recognizing their controller and instead detects it as a mouse. When this happens, the right stick moves the cursor slowly, and other controller buttons become unresponsive. And for those on the Steam Deck, the most likely scenario is that the A and the circle buttons stop working. So, whether you are encountering the issue on your PC or Steam Deck, this is just the guide you need, as we have shared some of the most effective workarounds to help you fix it.
Marvel Rivals Controller Not Working on PC & Steam Deck: Is there any fix yet?
Right now, the controller issues in Marvel Rivals remain unresolved by the developers. This leads taking to forums and threads for player-suggested fixes. Here are the most effective potential workarounds that you can try out.
First things first
Reboot your PC and find the game executable by navigating to Steam > Library > Marvel Rivals > Installed Files > Browse Local Files. Right-click the game executable, select Properties, and go to the Compatibility tab. Checkmark the Run this program in compatibility mode for option, select Windows 8, and then again checkmark the Run with administrator option. Save the settings, restart Steam, and launch the game. Also, after turning on your controller, you can restart the game to ensure it properly detects the device. Occasionally, you might encounter a “device swap error” during the countdown, but this issue typically resolves itself once the match begins, and the game should work smoothly afterward.
Controller Settings
Try reconnecting the controller to your PC and switching to different USB ports to ensure a stable connection. Disconnect any other input or peripheral devices as well. A few other things to try! Launch Steam, go to Steam > Settings > Controller and enable Steam Input for your controller type (e.g., Switch Pro or Generic controllers). After this, head over to your Steam Library, right-click on Marvel Rivals, and select Properties. Go to the Controller section, and change the setting from Default Settings to Enable Steam Input.
Calibrate Controller
You can also try and calibrate the controller via USB Settings. Just search for Controller in the Windows search box and open Setup USB Controllers. Select your controller and click Properties, then navigate to Settings. Choose Reset to Default and click Calibrate to initiate the calibration process. Follow the prompts, apply changes, and save settings.
Use DS4
If your controller works in the Steam intro but stops functioning in the main menu of Marvel Rivals, using DS4Windows instead of Steam’s controller support may resolve the issue. Install DS4Windows, configure your controller, and disable Steam’s controller configuration for the game to let DS4Windows handle the inputs.
Big Picture Mode
You can fix the issue by launching the game through Steam’s Big Picture Mode. To do this, open Steam, click the Big Picture Mode icon in the top right corner (it looks like a square with two arrows), and navigate to the game. Before launching, go to the game’s Controller Settings and ensure it uses Steam’s controller input instead of the game’s built-in one. Launch the game and see if this fixes the issue.
Minimum Deadzone
If you’re experiencing sensitivity issues with your controller in Marvel Rivals, try increasing the minimum dead zone to 10. This setting can typically be found in the game’s controller or input settings. Adjusting the dead zone helps prevent unintended movements or stick drift and has helped some players with controller issues.
Disable and Enable the Controller in Device Manager
Go to Device Manager on your PC by typing “Device Manager” in the search bar. Find your controller under the list of connected devices (usually under “Human Interface Devices” or “Universal Serial Bus Controllers”). Right-click on your controller and select Disable Device. Afterwards, right-click again and select Enable Device. Now launch the game and check your controller again.
Adjust USB Power Management
To do this, open up Device Manager and navigate to Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Right-click on Generic USB Hub and select Properties. Go to the Power Management tab and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Click OK and close the window. A reboot might be required for the changes to take effect and after that, launch the game to see if this fixes the issue.
Updates
Run through a few update checks so that all the important drivers and software are up to date. In Device Manager, right-click on your controller and select Update Driver. Choose the option to search automatically for drivers or manually install the latest driver downloaded from the manufacturer’s website. Next, open your GPU’s control panel software (e.g., AMD Adrenalin or NVIDIA GeForce Experience), check for GPU Driver updates, and install the latest version. Finally, check for Windows updates by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Click Check for updates to download and install the latest patches.
Steam Deck Fix
For those using a Steam Deck, the controller issues might be due to having previously used multiple controllers. To fix this, press the Steam button, go into the controller settings of the game, and look for an option at the top right that says “Reorder Controllers” or something similar. Select this option and set your Steam Deck controller to the number 1 priority. This should resolve the issue, as it makes sure that your Steam Deck controller is properly recognized as the main input device, particularly if it was mistakenly set to priority 2.
Proton Fix
Staying on the topic of Steam Deck, one potential fix is to try using different Proton versions. Proton is a compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on Linux, and sometimes certain Proton versions work better with specific games. To do this, go to the game’s properties via your Steam library, click on the “Compatibility” tab, and select a different Proton version from the drop-down list. Experiment with different versions to see if that fixes the controller issues.
We hope that one of these workarounds did the trick for you and that you were able to play the game without any further controller issues. Now before you leave, you can click here to find out how to fix the Voice Chat not working issue in Marvel Rivals. Also, stay tuned to DigiStatement for more guides and news like this on the latest gaming trends.
