It’s here. Officially announced back in 2021, Ubisoft finally released its free-to-play first-person shooter – XDefiant, on May 21, 2024, for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Players are certainly enjoying the game, although it is plagued with some major issues. A major one of which is the controller not working issue.
This particular issue has been around for a long time. Sometimes it’s due to another accessory or controller and other times it happens because the controller doesn’t have the latest firmware update. Whatever the cause here may be, this issue needs to be fixed. So, without much further ado, let’s go ahead and find out all the available fixes for this issue.
xDefiant controller not working: How to fix it?
Here are some workarounds that will be of help in resolving this issue. Try not to skip unless you’ve already tried a workaround before.
Unplug any connected foot pedal –
For whatever reason, controllers don’t work at all if there’s a foot pedal connected to your setup. So, players with one, simply disconnected or unplugged the foot pedal from their setup, which fixed this issue for them. If you happen to have one connected to your build, we suggest you do the same too. However, if you aren’t using a foot pedal in the first place, then you can switch to a different workaround.
Unplug keyboard –
Players can also unplug their keyboards as that’s what some players did to fix this issue. Additionally, we also recommend unplugging other accessories and seeing if that helps in dealing with this issue.
Restart PC –
If the issue persists, consider restarting your PC. A simple restart can sometimes do wonders, so we recommend trying this as well.
Update –
Make sure to update your controllers. And while you are at it, update your system too. Updating can help you fix a plethora of issues and can potentially fix this one too. If updating method doesn’t work for you, then do check out other methods.
Log out of Steam –
This is an old workaround, but you can still try it if you want. So, all you have to do for this workaround is to log out of Steam. Now, you might be asking why you need to do that when Steam isn’t related to the game at all. Well, we think it’s because of Steam’s controller configuration. Regardless, try this, and if this doesn’t work, you can try another workaround.
Verify files –
Verifying and repairing game files is a pretty common method for fixing issues such as this one. If you haven’t tried this, go ahead and do so. Start by launching Ubisoft Connect. Next, go to the Library tab and right-click on XDefiant from there. Select Verify files and let the launcher do the rest.
Check if your controller is officially supported –
Don’t forget to check whether XDefiant has official support for your controller. You can head over to this link to see what controllers are officially supported by Ubisoft for XDefiant. Controllers not mentioned in that list might or might not work.
Use third-party tools –
You can also make use of third-party tools or programs to connect your controllers and find out if that helps. PlayStation controller users especially are recommended to use programs like DS4Windows or DSX. There’s this player who used DS4Windows and connected their controller wirelessly, so you can see that this has worked for some.
Edit config file –
Another old workaround that might or might not work for you. But there’s no way of knowing without ever trying it out. As suggested by ClarityFPS on Twitter last year in June 2023, what you have to do is navigate to Documents/MyGames/XDefiant/. In there, you will see the “bc_general_settings” file. Select it and open it with Notepad. Now, find the “GameplayInput_v0” parameter and change its value from 0 to 1. Save the changes and launch the game.
🚨Workaround for wrong input on PC 🚨
Go to Documents/My Games/XDefiant/
Open "bc_general_settings" with notepad
Go to "GameplayInput_v0" and change the value from 0 to 1#XDefiant pic.twitter.com/ahneizdo8O— Clarity (@ClarityFPS) June 20, 2023
Close Steam –
Make sure that Steam isn’t running in the background. As suggested here, you can do that by launching Task Manager, finding Steam in the Processes tab, selecting it, and then clicking on End Task. That should stop Steam from running in the background, after which you just need to launch the game through Ubisoft Connect.
And that’s all the workarounds we have for this issue. You can also take a quick look here if you want to know how to fix the xDefiant crashing on your Steam Deck issue. Lastly, keep following DigiStatement for more interesting guides like this. Also read: Ubisoft Connect Failed To Synchronize Cloud Saves Issue: How To Fix It
