Sony to officially support the PS5 DualSense on Linux with a new driver

Seems like if proper support is added then this might be the closest current thing to the great, but sadly discontinued Steam controllers. Sony definitely took up a lot of similar ideas and maybe refined them further.


Last edited by Julius on 28 December 2020 at 11:31 am UTC

Intriguing! Pretty cool to see support from Sony themselves, or did they already support the DS4 in a similar way and I missed that fact?

As long as the trigger and haptics stuff lands I'll probably grab one too.

I wonder what the motivation of Sony is? Their consoles do not run Linux, and they only have a few games published on Steam. Has Sony done anything out of kindness of their heart ever?

I wonder what the motivation of Sony is? Their consoles do not run Linux, and they only have a few games published on Steam. Has Sony done anything out of kindness of their heart ever?

Well I had linux running on my fat PS3 for a while, just out of curiosity really.
Sony eventually dropped support for that but its interesting that they allowed it for a while. Their console OS is based on BSD I believe so they are *nix-like.

Seems like if proper support is added then this might be the closest current thing to the great, but sadly discontinued Steam controllers.

I still think the Steam Controller is the best controller ever made. I wish other manufacturers had followed Valve's lead with touch pads instead of joysticks.

Intriguing! Pretty cool to see support from Sony themselves, or did they already support the DS4 in a similar way and I missed that fact?

As long as the trigger and haptics stuff lands I'll probably grab one too.

I actually think they did, but they decided to create a new driver for the DS5.

This makes me wonder if they're planning on releasing some native games on their own for Linux. How cool would that be. Otherwise, are they doing it to sell more controllers? I'd buy one if it had great Linux support, yet at the same time it'll probably be a year or more before I buy a PS5.

Edit: This means if I had a PS5 controller and Atari updates the kernel on the Atari VCS, I could use the controller there (the PS4 controller works flawlessly there). Granted I actually do really like the Atari controllers as well.)


Last edited by slaapliedje on 29 December 2020 at 3:28 am UTC

This makes me wonder if they're planning on releasing some native games on their own for Linux.

This is certainly possible and perhaps even likely. Otherwise, you're correct, supporting Linux just to sell a few more controllers doesn't make a lot of sense. Unless Linux is their development platform, and it literally costs them nothing extra to release a Linux driver.

nah I think they are making this driver for the Chromebooks, there is a huge market on Chromebooks in the US and now you can game on those with Stadia. Chromebooks is still Linux.

But how likely is it that Chromebooks get brand spanking new kernels? Sure Google could back port them, but why would Sony specifically try to give Google money? Plus Stadia comes with it's own controllers?

This makes me wonder if they're planning on releasing some native games on their own for Linux.

This is certainly possible and perhaps even likely. Otherwise, you're correct, supporting Linux just to sell a few more controllers doesn't make a lot of sense. Unless Linux is their development platform, and it literally costs them nothing extra to release a Linux driver.

Their development being possible on MS / Linux makes the most sense, actually. Guess the real question is, is this driver also going to be created for the BSDs?

I mean the fact that Steam no longer has it's own controller being made.. and that the DS5 has some very special features, I think Sony's idea would be to get support in some PC games so that people will want to buy these controllers for all their gaming needs. If they get special support, it's a form of lock-in if you think about it. And I know at least for me, if there is some weird gimmick in a controller, I'll probably end up buying it, as I like oddball controllers! Hell, I bought one of these! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdgIktZaGY

And I know at least for me, if there is some weird gimmick in a controller, I'll probably end up buying it, as I like oddball controllers!

The PS5 controller is certainly a sharp looking piece of gear and attractively priced. The only thing I don't like about it is the placement of the sticks. I think Nintendo and Microsoft got it right with offset joystick placement.

Nice. I'm split on the possibility of this being about Chromebook support but don't forget that Sony still has their "cloud" gaming for old titles (I think Last of Us 1 is there). So if their plan is to Have all PC space (Win/Mac/Linux) supported for their streaming service, then this move makes sense.

I think the driver makes sense overall since Stadia might allow the use of other gamepads.

I agree with @slaapliedje. It's unlikely that Sony based their PS5 software on Linux and not BSD. They've been using BSD for some time now (this includes the psvita) but it's possible to have switched. All I know is that BSD's licensing is easier to work with than Linux.

And I know at least for me, if there is some weird gimmick in a controller, I'll probably end up buying it, as I like oddball controllers!

The PS5 controller is certainly a sharp looking piece of gear and attractively priced. The only thing I don't like about it is the placement of the sticks. I think Nintendo and Microsoft got it right with offset joystick placement.

Ha, that's as a divisive thing as what political party you follow. My brain prefers the parallel sticks. Then again, now you can get sticks where you can swap them on the fly (like the eSwap Pro that I own).

I'd love to have this free/libre under a BSD, MIT, or GPL license and in the mainline Linux kernel.

I'd love to have this free/libre under a BSD, MIT, or GPL license and in the mainline Linux kernel.

From the article it is going to be in the mainline kernel. They say two drivers are made by Sony, hid-playstation for the controllers and hid-sony for other devices. Not sure what those other devices are though.


Last edited by slaapliedje on 29 December 2020 at 5:39 am UTC

Intriguing! Pretty cool to see support from Sony themselves, or did they already support the DS4 in a similar way and I missed that fact?

As long as the trigger and haptics stuff lands I'll probably grab one too.

I actually think they did, but they decided to create a new driver for the DS5.

This makes me wonder if they're planning on releasing some native games on their own for Linux. How cool would that be. Otherwise, are they doing it to sell more controllers? I'd buy one if it had great Linux support, yet at the same time it'll probably be a year or more before I buy a PS5.

Edit: This means if I had a PS5 controller and Atari updates the kernel on the Atari VCS, I could use the controller there (the PS4 controller works flawlessly there). Granted I actually do really like the Atari controllers as well.)

It's prolly for their future Android devices like TVs and Xperias. Having support in mainline would mean that AOSP will also have it later on, amongst other benefits from it being in mainline (such as long-term maintenance).

I actually got my hands on a ps5 controller this christmas. I just now realized, that i don't have a bluetooth controller and just ordered one on amazon. I am really intrigued if i can get this thing to work :)

Would be interesting to know, if these controllers do work with the Steamlink.

Actually I think of buying another controller and the Dual Sense look really nice. But will they work with my Steamlink?

I wonder what the motivation of Sony is?

Selling controllers?

Has Sony done anything out of kindness of their heart ever?

Sony has had their "You Can" program in Australia here, to recycle mobile phones and donate the relevant proceeds towards youth cancer... It looks like the program has finished-up now, but I'm skeptical it's the only Community-focused thing Sony has ever done.

If you're specifically referring to the Open Source and Linux Communities, well a quick search online shows that Sony have contributed towards making Open Source software available for renewable energy, they have various Open Source projects for the film industry and they've been especially passionate about making the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) work with some of their mobile devices (in fact, they've probably put more effort into this than all of the other "major" manufacturers!).

And that's just the stuff I could find on DuckDuckGo in the space of two or three minutes; I'm sure there's plenty more.

Granted Sony is far from perfect, but this is not the first time they've done something like this...


Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 6 February 2021 at 7:42 am UTC

Has Sony done anything out of kindness of their heart ever?

Sony has had their "You Can" program in Australia here, to recycle mobile phones and donate the relevant proceeds towards youth cancer... It looks like the program has finished-up now, but I'm skeptical it's the only Community-focused thing Sony has ever done.

If you're specifically referring to the Open Source and Linux Communities, well a quick search online shows that Sony have contributed towards making Open Source software available for renewable energy, they have various Open Source projects for the film industry and they've been especially passionate about making the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) work with some of their mobile devices (in fact, they've probably put more effort into this than all of the other "major" manufacturers!).

And that's just the stuff I could find on DuckDuckGo in the space of two or three minutes; I'm sure there's plenty more.

Granted Sony is far from perfect, but this is not the first time they've done something like this...

Sony doesn't get enough credit for their phones. I bought one as it had a 3d modeler in it before Samsung did, and while I hate stock android, they have provided more updates than Samsung does. And apparently someone ported SailfishOS to it. Too bad I haven't had the time to set it up...
Still waiting for my Librem to appear..

And apparently someone ported SailfishOS to it. Too bad I haven't had the time to set it up...

It's an official port. Jolla made a deal with Sony to support Sailfish X on the Xperia 10, 10 Plus, X and XA2. Meaning you'll need a proper paid license from Jolla to get the full Sailfish X package with Android emulation and all. You can read more here.

Too bad you can't even buy these phones anymore, and no support has materialized for the newer models. I fear the day when my current phone inevitably breaks down. I think I'd rather just go back to a dumb feature phone than use Android. I dislike it just as much as I dislike Windows, with the added bonus that I'm not a big fan of smartphones in general.