Side by side

Steam Input vs Xbox 360 Controller Emulator

Both stand on game controller mapper software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Steam Input

Free plan APILinuxMac+1

Steam Input offers both game-integrated action mapping and a legacy option for games without API support. Players should account for possible input glitches and mismatched glyphs when using legacy configurations.

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Xbox 360 Controller Emulator

Free plan Windows

Choose X360CE if you want to map controller inputs and present a virtual Xbox 360 controller on a Windows PC. Keep in mind that version 4.x must stay running during play, while version 3.x uses DLL files that some newer or updated games do not permit.

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The facts

	Steam Input	Xbox 360 Controller Emulator
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	API, Linux, Mac, Windows	Windows
Lowest paid plan	Not published	Free or on request
Plans published	None	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	partner.steamgames.com	x360ce.com
On game controller mapper software	#14 of 27	#18 of 27

Steam Input: what it does well

Built into the Steam client.
Supports major controller families.
Players can share game-specific configurations.
Legacy mappings work without API integration.
Steam Input is free.

What to know first

Legacy mappings can cause input glitches in some games.
Legacy-mode glyphs may not match configured inputs.

Xbox 360 Controller Emulator: what it does well

Free project described as open source.
Maps several controller types to an Xbox 360 controller.
Allows button and axis remapping.
Version 4.x creates a virtual controller through ViGEmBus.
Version 4 download works on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.

What to know first

Version 4.x must remain running during gameplay.
Some newer or updated games do not permit version 3.x custom XInput DLLs.

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