Plugged my PC to TV: Looking for an app that's navigated by controller and launches games across platforms

F

Filben

Member
Can someone recommend an app (or any other way) to navigate and launch all my games across Steam, Game Pass, Epic, etc. via controller?

I have my PC hooked up to my TV but having to use my wireless keyboard and mouse is starting to annoy me. I want a more "console like" experience where I can control everything with just a game pad.

Have you guys some experience and tips to share?
 
Look into playnite, when I was doing this I also used a remapping tool like rewasd that let me switch my gamepad between normal gamepad and another profile that had mouse and hotkeys like volume, alt+tab, alt+f4 etc. May be able to accomplish the same with just steam input.
 
I've been doing PC plus TV combo for more than a decade and I have always used this without any issues.

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Honestly, using a controller would make things more difficult and convoluted
 
What I personally do is to set up a good mouse and keyboard desktop profile for my controller in Steam Input and then control everything using that, with shortcuts to switch to a controller profile instead when launching a non-Steam game. It can still cause some problems with double input and such depending on the game and launcher though. I know I set up different desktop profiles including one with no mappings to get around this.

Beside Playnite, Heroic Launcher is also cool as it can completely bypass the Epic, GOG and Amazon launcher by using backend code. It only supports those launchers for now though. There are plug-ins to add this functionality to Playnite, but I found they didn't work right and just messed things up for me.

Some people like to use an air mouse too.
 
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Steam Big Picture mode mate its basically a console like interface in built into steam.

You can also configure a desktop profile for your controller so you can use the sticks as a mouse or scroll in web pages, you can bind specific commands to your controller , then you can bring up a virtual keyboard and enter text where you need to with the controller.

Turns off and goes back to a regular controller when browsing steam in big picture mode and games.

I had Xbox button + options for alt tab super useful for checking guides or pausing music etc when playing games.

Holding the Xbox or ps button (whatever controller you have connected) basically acts as a function key v cool if in game you want to do something on desktop.

ADd all your non steam games to steam and things like web browsers etc that you need to use as well.

Or

You can download controller companion that does the same thing just not through steam.

Lastly you can also use an app called remote mouse that let's you use your phone as a virtual touch pad and you use your phone keyboard to type v cool.
 
After trying loads of different ways and.launchers over the years I've gone to using controller companion on steam. remap as you like, I have left trigger as windows key and turned down the left stick sensitvity a bit. Then I just use shortcuts to all the launchers such as steam,epic and Ea and such set to the start menu.

I've set windows 11 to auto sign in so I just turn on PC and tv, turn on controller and controller companion auto starts. hit left trigger to bring up start menu, click on steam or whatever. when you start a game controller companion turns off and turns back on when you exit a game.

Controller companion also has a spiral keyboard thing for inputing text if needed.

I've been thinking been thinking of buying a far field conference microphone and trying to open and navigate stuff with my voice using copilot but haven't got round to it yet.
 
Playnite
playnite.link

Playnite - video game library manager

Video game library manager with one simple goal: To provide a unified interface for all of your games.
playnite.link playnite.link

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It's very customizable, can change the number of rows and size of cover art and there are themes and so on. You can add games from all launchers so feels very unrestricted. There is a third party extension to include uninstalled Gamepass games too so you can have that 500+ games library sitting there in a tab.

Right now it feels like UbisoftPass…

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You can set it to boot into fullscreen mode. You see roughly 5 seconds of Windows desktop at cold boot before it automatically swaps to Playnite.

The whole thing feels extremely unrestricted compared to anything else I've tried.

Only negative aspect is that some settings are tucked away in desktop mode and then you need a keyboard/mouse.
 
I use the wireless logitech K400. it's perfect for a couch combo. Then switch to controller. Having a full fledged keyboard with track pad is better than just a controller imo.
 
Steam.

Just add .exe files from other stores and launch big picture mode. I've been doing this for over a decade.

And if you wanna get wild....

 
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https://a.co/d/9UV1GhY

I also game on my TV and I bought one of these a couple years ago. It kinda works like a Wii remote for moving the cursor around. It gets the job done for basic navigation, launching games, and typing.

I rarely need to use a mouse and keyboard.

I'd recommend rechargeable batteries with it.

Edit: Now Amazon is recommending me a ton of these. Looks like some models now have a rechargeable battery built in with USB C charging. Make sure you thoroughly read the reviews.
 
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I'm using an old app Xpadder. It lets me configure my Xbox 360 gamepad to act as a mouse and keyboard. The thumbsticks are surprisingly precise, making it very easy to navigate the mouse cursor and launch whatever app I want. Then, if the game launches, I can turn off this gamepad connected to Xpadder APP and just use my second pad to play the game.
 
GOG Galaxy is a great aggregator, but idk if there's controller support. It'll take games from any launcher and bring them together in a completely naturally looking way. Nice big cover arts etc. I always used a small Logitech MX Anywhere mouse on the couch cushion with a little Bluetooth keyboard. Much faster than a controller for systems stuff.
 
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simpatico said:
GOG Galaxy is a great aggregator, but idk if there's controller support. It'll take games from any launcher and bring them together in a completely naturally looking way. Nice big cover arts etc. I always used a small Logitech MX Anywhere mouse on the couch cushion with a little Bluetooth keyboard. Much faster than a controller for systems stuff.
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Have the integrations improved? I remember them breaking after the time. I switched to PlayNite and recently some stopped working. But it's more reliable than Galaxy was.
 
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Playnite or Launchbox imo

Playnite: Brings games in from all major platforms, gamepad support, tons of plugins and theming options (best reason, and it's completely open-source/free to use.

Launchbox: Brings games from any platform but with better emulation integration if you do that, easier imo to learn to use, similar controller support, and bonus if you do emulation far better easier integration to set that up...but premium features and theming options are a paid thing that you buy a lifetime license for.
 
Playnite is pretty much what you want but in Fullscreen mode.

I do think that you will always need a mouse and keyboard to game on a PC - even just to set up playnite you'll need one.

Switching between my PC and PS5 the difference in ease of use with controller is noticable.
 
Steam big picture with Heroic launcher to manage your non-steam games other than gamepass. You could use the gamepass app it adds your games automatically now and it is navigable with controller, but it is clunky as hell and ugly on top of it. Maybe soon it will be more viable.

Windows really needs the hold start to switch a controller to mouse navigation like moonlight has. This would remove the need for a mouse to click on pop-ups like that annoying Doom: DA one.
 
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BlackTron said:
It's so much more effort worrying about it and setting up launchers/schemes in advance, that I just use a wireless mouse to launch the game and then play game.
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Playnite set it all up automatically, it just push you to log in to all launchers you want to use when you install it, then it does some magic and synchronize libraries and add all your games in one library. I don't do anything nowdays besides playing games.
 
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PC gamers have lied about the practicality of couch PC gaming for decades, but SteamOS has finally made it real. I think there are limitations to what builds you can use though.

Gamepass cloud works great and seamlessly on SteamOS with a custom launcher through browser. I think you can make Epic work too.
 
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Boss Man said:
PC gamers have lied about the practicality of couch PC gaming for decades, but SteamOS has finally made it real. I think there are limitations to what builds you can use though.

Gamepass cloud works great and seamlessly on SteamOS with a custom launcher through browser. I think you can make Epic work too.
Click to expand...
I mean with a wireless keyboard with trackpad it's as simple as playing on a laptop. It's more aesthetics than practicality.
 
Boss Man said:
PC gamers have lied about the practicality of couch PC gaming for decades, but SteamOS has finally made it real. I think there are limitations to what builds you can use though.

Gamepass cloud works great and seamlessly on SteamOS with a custom launcher through browser. I think you can make Epic work too.
Click to expand...
I just wish I could turn on my PC from my couch with my controller or with something.

I can't believe we don't have an (optional) fully console like experience on PC in 2025!
 
DarkShadowXI said:
I just wish I could turn on my PC from my couch with my controller or with something.

I can't believe we don't have an (optional) fully console like experience on PC in 2025!
Click to expand...
And updating/downloading updates while in sleep mode. Not even the Steam Deck is able to do that. It's one of the best console features. My recent games always patched and ready to go.
 
Filben said:
And updating/downloading updates while in sleep mode. Not even the Steam Deck is able to do that. It's one of the best console features. My recent games always patched and ready to go.
Click to expand...
100,000 times yes, please!

My PC games look and play amazing, sure, but damnit you can't beat the convenience and ease of use with consoles.

There really shouldn't be that much of a gap.
 
Boss Man said:
PC gamers have lied about the practicality of couch PC gaming for decades, but SteamOS has finally made it real. I think there are limitations to what builds you can use though.

Gamepass cloud works great and seamlessly on SteamOS with a custom launcher through browser. I think you can make Epic work too.
Click to expand...
I don't like how Steam is handling games from outside launchers. Or not handling I guess.

I swapped to Playnite, as shown earlier. It just brute force things and synchronize all launcher libraries into one gigantic list. And adds art and info automatically. Reminds me of how Retropie Emulation Station do it with scraping. But it adds games not installed too, games found on your accounts. It's super convenient really.

Microsoft is trying to do the same thing with Xbox App but at least going by the insiders preview it only add already installed games. Means you need to go to the other launchers to install games. Close but no cigar.
 
Filben said:
Can someone recommend an app (or any other way) to navigate and launch all my games across Steam, Game Pass, Epic, etc. via controller?

I have my PC hooked up to my TV but having to use my wireless keyboard and mouse is starting to annoy me. I want a more "console like" experience where I can control everything with just a game pad.

Have you guys some experience and tips to share?
Click to expand...
if you using windows 11 open the game bar go to store and download

One Game Launcher

. Its super easy and works with the system and allows controller support without add ons, full screen mode etc... It's been a great addition to my base install.
 
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Filben said:
Can someone recommend an app (or any other way) to navigate and launch all my games across Steam, Game Pass, Epic, etc. via controller?

I have my PC hooked up to my TV but having to use my wireless keyboard and mouse is starting to annoy me. I want a more "console like" experience where I can control everything with just a game pad.

Have you guys some experience and tips to share?
Click to expand...
I use a Logitech wireless trackball mouse and have for 10 years or so. That plus a wireless illuminated keyboard and I can do whatever I need to on my PC on the couch.
 
DarkShadowXI said:
I just wish I could turn on my PC from my couch with my controller or with something.

I can't believe we don't have an (optional) fully console like experience on PC in 2025!
Click to expand...
Have you googled it? It would surprise me if you couldn't wake up a PC from sleep mode by powering up an Xbox controller. Can do it with a keyboard so should be the same thing. Maybe you need to press a button idk.

PCs are quite fast to start up now though. I always have it powered off and it easily starts in less than a minute from power off to cold boot into Playnite fullscreen mode waiting for controller input. I'll clock it next time.
 
Fess said:
Have you googled it? It would surprise me if you couldn't wake up a PC from sleep mode by powering up an Xbox controller. Can do it with a keyboard so should be the same thing. Maybe you need to press a button idk.

PCs are quite fast to start up now though. I always have it powered off and it easily starts in less than a minute from power off to cold boot into Playnite fullscreen mode waiting for controller input. I'll clock it next time.
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It's been a long time since I looked! I'll research it again.

I'll also try Playnite! Sounds awesome

Edit: I just wish Windows had a true "I just use this computer as a console" mode.
 
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DarkShadowXI said:
It's been a long time since I looked! I'll research it again.

I'll also try Playnite! Sounds awesome

Edit: I just wish Windows had a true "I just use this computer as a console" mode.
Click to expand...

the Xbox full screen thing is supposed to eventually turn into that. if you are in the preview you can already activate it.
 
DarkShadowXI said:
I'll also try Playnite! Sounds awesome

Edit: I just wish Windows had a true "I just use this computer as a console" mode.
Click to expand...
I think you'll like Playnite if you're coming from the console side. There are fullscreen mode themes making the UI look similar to PlayStation, Xbox, Switch console, and so on. It's extremely customizable.

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Regarding Windows and a console-like setup. I think the fullscreen mode they'll do with the Xbox Ally X could improve things. Assuming it comes to regular PCs. From the sound of it you can dodge the Windows desktop completely.
 
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