The Epic Games Store is a great way to dive into PC gaming, but it’s still missing a few basic features. One of these missing features is support for gamepads such as the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. This is one of many controllers that just doesn’t want to work with the Epic launcher. Fortunately, there is a way to play Epic Games Store games with the Switch Pro Controller. Here’s what you need to know.
How to use Switch Pro Controller with Epic Games Store games
By default, the Epic Games Store does not support the Nintendo Switch Pro controller, at least not yet. Thankfully, you can use the Switch Pro controller to play games purchased from the Epic Games Store by launching them through Steam.
This may seem a bit counter-intuitive. After all, the Epic Games Store is a competitor to Valve’s long-running PC storefront. However, since Steam has been around for such a long time, it’s developed a robust set of features. Among these features is the ability to play non-Steam games with all of the usual Steam perks. And included among that list is — you guessed it — support for the Nintendo Switch Pro controller.
For this to work, you need to do two separate things. The first is that you need to add your EGS game to Steam as a non-Steam game. Then, you need to set up the Switch Pro controller to work within Steam itself. Here’s how the process works.
Add your Epic Games Store game to Steam
- Load Steam, then open your Library
- Click the Add A Game button in the lower-left
- Select Add a Non-Steam Game
- Click browse, then navigate to the folder where the game is installed
- The default Epic Games Store directory is C:Program FilesEpic Games
- Find and select the executable (*.exe) for the game to add
- Make sure the game is selected, then click Add Selected Programs
After that’s done, your game from the Epic storefront will be loaded into Steam. At this point you can play it with a number of different gamepads, including the DualShock 4, PS5 DualSense, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the Steam controller. However, there’s just a bit more work needed to enable the Switch Pro controller.
Configure your Switch Pro controller in Steam
- Open Steam, click Steam in the upper-left, then click Settings
- Select the Controller option in the left sidebar
- Click General Controller Settings
- Turn on the toggle for Switch Pro Configuration support
- If desired, toggle the Use Nintendo Button Layout option. This will reverse the B and A buttons to more closely match the usual Switch button configuration
- Close the Controller Settings window, then click OK to close the Settings window
With all of these steps done, you’ll be able to play games from the Epic Games Store using a Nintendo Switch Pro controller. Epic Games cloud saves will still function, and as an added bonus, you’ll be able to use the Steam overlay in-game.
