Native Nintendo Switch 2 Controller Support

[DamnFine815]

Would it be possible to add native Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller and Joy-Con 2 support?

Switch2Connect already allows Switch 2 controllers to be used on Windows through USB/IP, emulating a genuine USB-connected Switch 2 Pro Controller.

Native support would be especially great for HD Rumble 2, as well as motion controls and other controller-specific features, without having to emulate an older Switch 1 or DualSense controller.

It would be awesome to have full native Switch 2 controller support in this recompilation!

Thanks for considering!

[adriadam10]

They may already work over USB. The port uses SDL 3.4.18 for controllers, and SDL has a driver for the Switch 2 Pro Controller and Joy-Con 2 over USB, with rumble and motion sensors; the port takes rumble and the gyro from SDL for any controller. SDL doesn't support them over Bluetooth yet ("Nintendo Switch2 controllers not supported over Bluetooth").

Rumble is the plain two-motor kind SDL offers, not HD Rumble 2's waveforms.

We don't have one to test. If you try one (plugged in, or through Switch2Connect), please tell us here whether buttons, rumble and motion work; logs/mkw.log names the controller SDL found.

[adriadam10]

A correction to what I wrote above, after reading SDL's driver: over USB, SDL sets these controllers up through libusb. On Linux that is the system's libusb-1.0 (most desktops have it; the device also needs udev permissions, which Steam's rules give), so a Pro Controller 2 or Joy-Con 2 plugged in should work there. On Windows it most likely does not: our package ships no libusb and the controller would also need the WinUSB driver, so please don't expect USB to work on Windows yet.

Over Bluetooth, SDL has no support (its driver says so), so we are going to add our own: the controllers' Bluetooth LE protocol is known (we will port it from mkw-neo, MIT), with a backend for Linux (BlueZ) and one for Windows. We don't own one of these controllers, so when there is a build to try we'll post it here; if you can test it then (pairing, buttons, sticks, gyro, rumble), that would be the check it needs.

[adriadam10]

The Linux side is in main now (893070b) and will be in the next release: Settings > Controls > Switch 2 controllers (Bluetooth), off by default. It speaks the controllers' own Bluetooth LE protocol through BlueZ, pairs one when you hold its Sync button with the game open, and shows it to the game as a regular gamepad with gyro and rumble. Windows comes next. We have checked discovery and advertisement reading here, but not a real controller: if you are on Linux and build from source, MKW_SWITCH2=2 also logs every Bluetooth device it sees, which helps if pairing does not start.

[adriadam10]

Windows is in main too now (7a20272), so there is a test build for both, on top of 0.1.9: https://github.com/adriadam10/mkw-recomp/actions/runs/43264886902 (at the bottom, Artifacts: linux, linux-aarch64 or windows; GitHub asks you to be signed in to download them, and they expire on 19/11).

It reuses the game you already prepared with 0.1.9 (the game code has not changed since), so no new setup:

• Linux: run the AppImage from the linux zip instead of the 0.1.9 one; it uses the same ~/.local/share/mkw-recomp.
• Windows: unzip windows over your 0.1.9 folder (keep a copy of the old mkw.exe to go back).
• If the start screen still offers Prepare, press it: only what changed is redone.

Then Settings (F1) > Controls > Switch 2 controllers (Bluetooth) on, restart the game, and hold the Sync button of the Pro Controller 2 or a Joy-Con 2 until it connects. It shows up to the game as a normal gamepad, with gyro and rumble; once paired, any button wakes it toward the PC next time.

We have checked here, on Linux and on Windows, that the PC finds its Bluetooth adapter and reads devices' advertisements, but not a real controller, so this is the first time it meets one. Whatever happens, please attach logs/mkw.log (its input: Switch 2 lines say how far it got), and tell us what works: pairing, buttons, both sticks, gyro (motion controls on), rumble. If nothing happens when you hold Sync, add switch2 = 2 to mkw.ini: the log then lists every Bluetooth device it sees.

[DamnFine815]

Thank you so much for putting together the test build! Really appreciate it!

I tested it on Windows 11, and the Switch 2 Pro Controller now works natively over Bluetooth without any additional software! Unfortunately, there's still very noticeable input lag, making it difficult to play.

I suspect this might be related to Windows' Bluetooth LE polling limitations. According to [Switch2Connect](https://github.com/TommyWabg/Switch2Connect), Windows 11 is limited to around 70 Hz, whereas their ESP32-S3 bridge can achieve up to 133 Hz.

Would you mind taking a quick look at Switch2Connect? Its USB/IP + Switch 2 mode allows an ESP32-S3 board to expose a virtual USB-connected Switch 2 Pro Controller to Windows, potentially avoiding the Windows Bluetooth limitation.

I also tried connecting my actual Switch 2 Pro Controller directly via USB-C, but unfortunately, the test build didn't recognize it.

If native wired USB support could be implemented, I imagine the virtual USB/IP Switch 2 controller might work through the same input path as well. Perhaps SDL3's existing Switch 2 HIDAPI USB support could help here?

Thanks again for the test build and all your amazing work! I'd be more than happy to test further builds!

[adriadam10]

@DamnFine815 thanks a lot, that is the first test with a real controller, and the lag was worth fixing before the next release. Since 1a005db in main:

• On Windows 11 the game asks for a throughput-optimized Bluetooth connection, the shortest interval Windows allows (the same thing Switch2Connect does for the same lag). Before, the link kept Windows' default interval.
• It writes the input's report-rate descriptor when the controller has one (the official software does; seen on Joy-Con 2, not yet on a Pro Controller 2).
• The log now says how fast the controller really reports.

A test build: https://github.com/adriadam10/mkw-recomp/actions/runs/43434616935 (at the bottom, Artifacts, windows; GitHub asks you to be signed in). Unzip it over your 0.1.9 folder (keep a copy of the old mkw.exe). The game code changed since 0.1.9, so the start screen will set up the game again (only the compile step, a few minutes).

Then a race with the Pro Controller 2, and please tell us whether the lag is gone, better or the same, and attach logs/mkw.log. These lines are the ones that matter:

• throughput-optimized connection asked for (or why not);
• report-rate descriptor written / not found;
• ... reports a second over its first 5 s and 5 s into its reports: connection interval ... ms.

About USB-C: the Windows build has no USB access for that controller yet (SDL drives the Switch 2 controllers over USB through libusb, which the Windows package does not carry), so wired is not covered by this.

[DamnFine815]

Thanks again for the improvements in v0.1.10! I've tested the new build with my Switch 2 Pro Controller and both Joy-Con 2 controllers on Windows 11. I've attached the full mkw.log.

First of all, the input lag has definitely improved! Before v0.1.10, it felt roughly twice as bad. With the latest Bluetooth LE optimizations, the controllers are now noticeably more responsive, although there's still some input lag compared to playing on the actual Switch 2.

Here are the results:

• ThroughputOptimized: Successfully requested.
• Report-rate descriptor: Successfully written on all controllers, including the Pro Controller 2!
• Bluetooth connection interval: Reduced from 18.75 ms to 15.00 ms.
• Pro Controller 2: 57.9 Hz on the first connection, 61.2 Hz on the second.
• Joy-Con 2 (L/R): Approximately 59.5–60.5 Hz.
• All controllers remained at a 15 ms connection interval.

So the changes have definitely made a difference! However, we're still at around 60 Hz rather than the 7.5 ms / 133 Hz achievable with an ESP32-S3 bridge.

Do you think it might be possible to achieve a 7.5 ms BLE connection interval directly through Windows 11, or is this a limitation of the Windows Bluetooth stack/adapter?

If 7.5 ms isn't achievable natively, perhaps [Switch2Connect](https://github.com/TommyWabg/Switch2Connect) could be an alternative. I already have the ESP32-S3 N16R8 board, which supports up to 133 Hz. Its USB/IP + Switch 2 mode exposes an emulated USB-connected Switch 2 Pro Controller to Windows.

Would it be possible to support this virtual USB controller in MKW Recomp, perhaps through SDL3's existing Switch 2 HIDAPI/libusb implementation? Ideally, this could also enable support for a real Switch 2 Pro Controller connected directly via USB-C.

I'd be more than happy to test either approach!

Thanks again for your work and for improving the input latency so quickly!

mkw.2.log

[adriadam10]

@DamnFine815 thank you for the numbers, they answer both questions.

7.5 ms over Bluetooth on Windows: not reachable from Windows' own Bluetooth stack. Switch2Connect's README says the same: Windows 11 tops out at about 70 Hz for Bluetooth LE, and your log shows 15 ms (about 66 Hz), which is that ceiling, reached through the same ThroughputOptimized request it uses. Its ESP32-S3 reaches 133 Hz because there the board holds the Bluetooth link, not Windows.

USB (a real Pro Controller 2, or Switch2Connect's virtual one): both take the same path, and it is not in the Windows package yet. SDL drives these controllers over USB through libusb (it sends the start-up commands on the controller's second, non-HID interface), and the SDL3.dll we ship, the official SDL release, is built without libusb, so the controller was found and never started. For the next release:

• we build SDL for Windows with libusb and ship libusb-1.0.dll next to it;
• you install the WinUSB driver once for the controller's second interface (with Zadig; we will write the exact steps, since picking the wrong interface would hide the controller from other apps).

When there is a test build I will post it here; your Pro Controller 2 over USB-C and through Switch2Connect's USB/IP mode would be the two checks it needs.

[DamnFine815]

I'll be there for you right away as soon as you need me.
Thank you so much!!!

[adriadam10]

@DamnFine815 the USB part is ready to test. The Windows package now carries an SDL built with libusb and libusb-1.0.dll beside it (in main since 7b46132, for 0.1.11).

Test build: https://github.com/adriadam10/mkw-recomp/actions/runs/43504163523 (at the bottom, Artifacts, windows; GitHub asks you to be signed in). Unzip it into a new folder, or over a copy of your 0.1.10 folder. The game code changed since 0.1.10, so the start screen sets the game up again (only the compile step, a few minutes).

Then, once per controller, the driver step (also in the README, "Switch 2 controllers over USB on Windows"):

1. Plug the Pro Controller 2 in with the USB-C cable and open Zadig.
2. Options → List All Devices, pick the entry with USB ID 057E 2069 and Interface 1. Not Interface 0: that is the controller's normal input, and replacing it hides it from every other app.
3. Driver WinUSB, Replace Driver.

The two checks it needs: the Pro Controller 2 over USB-C, and Switch2Connect's USB/IP mode (if it shows up with the same 057E 2069, the same step applies to it). For each, whether it starts and plays, how the lag feels against Bluetooth, and logs/mkw.log.

[DamnFine815]

Thanks a lot for the new test build! Great news: both USB configurations work successfully! 🎉

I tested:

• Pro Controller 2 directly via USB-C
• Pro Controller 2 via Switch2Connect in USB/IP mode

Both were recognized correctly, including gyro and HD rumble. I didn't need to change any drivers with Zadig, as WinUSB was already installed for Interface 1 in both cases (possibly thanks to Switch2Connect).

Input latency feels very good with both methods, noticeably better than Bluetooth. I can barely feel any difference between direct USB-C and Switch2Connect USB/IP, so both seem to be working really well.

I've attached the mkw.log files from both tests.

One more question: Would it be possible to provide another test build that also logs the actual controller report rate (reports per second and intervals), like the previous Bluetooth build did?

The earlier BLE logs showed around 58–61 reports/s at a 15 ms connection interval. I'd love to see what we're actually getting over direct USB versus Switch2Connect USB/IP, especially whether the latter achieves its expected ~133 Hz.

Thanks again for your work on this!

mkw (ProController USB).log
mkw (ProController USBIP Switch2Connect).log