Can You Use Joy-Con 2 on PC? What Works Over USB and Bluetooth
Joy-Con 2 on Windows, Steam and Mac: what Valve's Steam updates support, why Bluetooth doesn't work, and what the unofficial tools do.
The original Joy-Con became proper PC controllers in 2022, when Steam added them "both individually as a mini-gamepad and combined into pairs". So it's natural to expect the same from Joy-Con 2. The short answer: not officially, at least not the easy way. Steam supports Switch 2 controllers over USB, Joy-Con 2 have no USB port of their own, and nobody official supports them over Bluetooth yet. Here's what Valve's update notes, Nintendo's pages and the open-source code behind PC controller support say.
Does Nintendo support Joy-Con 2 on PC?
No. Nintendo's Joy-Con 2 FAQ says they "are only for use with the Nintendo Switch 2 console", and it doesn't mention PCs, phones or tablets at all. Anything that works on a computer is down to Valve, other software makers or hobbyists.
Does Steam support Joy-Con 2?
Not by name. Steam's 19 December 2025 client update "added support for Nintendo Switch 2 controllers connected over USB on Windows". The same update temporarily disabled Switch 2 support "in native mode" after reports of crashes with other controllers, and Valve re-enabled "Nintendo Switch 2 wired controller support" on 21 January, for Windows and for Steam Deck. A July update added Turtle Beach's Switch 2 controllers.
The key word is wired. That route suits the Switch 2 Pro Controller, which has a USB-C port. Joy-Con 2 don't have one: Nintendo's spec sheet lists Bluetooth (plus NFC on the right Joy-Con) and no USB port. Valve's notes never mention the Joy-Con 2, attached to a grip or otherwise.
Can you connect Joy-Con 2 to a PC over Bluetooth?
Not through Steam or SDL. SDL, the open-source library many PC games and emulators use for controllers, has a Switch 2 driver that recognises the left and right Joy-Con 2, the Switch 2 Pro Controller and the Switch 2 GameCube controller. For Bluetooth, though, its code returns a plain error: "Nintendo Switch2 controllers not supported over Bluetooth", next to a note that support still needs to be added. Valve's Steam notes have never listed Bluetooth support for Switch 2 controllers either.
What about the Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip?
It's the only way to plug Joy-Con 2 into anything with a cable. Nintendo sells it separately and describes its USB-C port as "used to charge attached Joy-Con 2". SDL's Switch 2 driver does include a setting to "enable grip buttons on charging grip", which suggests developers have looked at it as a wired controller, but neither Valve nor Nintendo has confirmed the grip works as a USB gamepad on PC. Treat it as untested until Valve says otherwise.
Are there unofficial apps for Joy-Con 2 on PC?
Yes, from hobbyist developers, and they're unofficial. The best known on Windows is joycon2cpp by the developer TheFrano, which pairs Joy-Con 2, the Switch 2 Pro Controller and the Switch 2 GameCube controller wirelessly and presents them to Windows as a DualShock 4 pad through the ViGEmBus driver. It also has three mouse modes for the Joy-Con 2's mouse sensor. Its readme says it's Windows-only and that Pro Controller rumble is untested. On Mac, there are open-source projects such as JoyCon2Mac, and several similar tools describe themselves as experimental.
These tools aren't supported by Nintendo or Valve and need extra drivers. Install them only from the developers' own pages.
Which Nintendo controller works best on PC today?
The original Joy-Con and Switch Pro Controller, which Steam has supported over Bluetooth for years, with gyro on both and dual gyros on combined Joy-Con since October 2025. For Switch 2 pads, the Pro Controller on a USB-C cable is the one Valve's notes cover. We went through the full picture for Valve's console in which controllers work with the Steam Machine, and Valve's own pad in what the new Steam Controller works with. If you'd rather use the Switch 2's camera on your computer, see whether it works as a PC webcam.
