DuoController is a pure userspace virtual gamepad library and UMDF driver for Windows that emulates DualSense Edge and Xbox One controllers entirely from user mode.

It is a spiritual successor to ViGEmBus, the now-abandoned KMDF-based kernel driver, reimagined using Microsoft's User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF).

Microsoft is actively steering the Windows driver ecosystem away from kernel-mode and toward user-mode drivers.

The reasoning is clear:

Kernel drivers on modern Windows must be submitted to the Windows Hardware Dev Center, pass through attestation signing, and have to be pre-signed by an Extended Validation (EV) code signing certificate.

This process costs hundreds of dollars, requires a registered legal entity that fulfills Microsoft's requirements, and takes weeks of turnaround.

UMDF drivers require no such signing.

A standard code signing certificate (or even self-signing for development or small-scale publishing) is sufficient.

This makes DuoController dramatically more accessible to:

• Independent developers
• Small teams

• Full DualSense Edge Controller Emulation - Via HID minidriver
• Full Xbox One Controller Emulation - Via xboxgipsynthetic.dll
• Session Isolation - Isolates gamepads to the current session ID for multi-session and RDP environments
• Minimal Footprint - A single DLL/INF pair, no kernel components

flowchart TB
    App["<b>Your Service</b><br/><span style='white-space:nowrap;color:inherit;font-size:small'>Running as SYSTEM</span><br/><br/>DuoController_Initialize()<br/><span style='white-space:nowrap;color:inherit'>DuoController_CreateController(Ds|Xbox)</span><br/>DuoController_SendReport()<br/>DuoController_SendReportDs()<br/>DuoController_RemoveController()<br/>DuoController_Uninitialize()"]
    DS["<b>DualSense Path</b><br/><br/>Shared Memory<br/>(UMDF Driver)"]
    Xbox["<b>Xbox Path</b><br/><br/>xboxgipsynthetic.dll<br/>(System API)"]
    Input["<b>Windows Game Input API</b><br/><span style='white-space:nowrap;color:inherit'>(GameInput / XInput / DirectInput / RawInput)</span>"]

    App --> DS
    App --> Xbox
    DS --> Input
    Xbox --> Input

    style App fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#e94560,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style DS fill:#16213e,stroke:#0f3460,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style Xbox fill:#16213e,stroke:#0f3460,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style Input fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#e94560,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

// Initialize the library
HRESULT DuoController_Initialize();

// Create a virtual controller
HRESULT DuoController_CreateController(
    DUO_CONTROLLER_TYPE controllerType,    // DuoControllerTypeXbox or DuoControllerTypeDs
    DuoController_VibrationReportCallback_t vibrationCallback,
    void* vibrationCallbackContext,
    void** controller
);

// Send Xbox One input report
HRESULT DuoController_SendReport(
    void* controller,
    DUO_CONTROLLER_INPUT_REPORT* inputReport
);

// Send DualSense Edge input report
HRESULT DuoController_SendReportDs(
    void* controller,
    DUO_CONTROLLER_INPUT_REPORT_DS* inputReport
);

// Remove a virtual controller
HRESULT DuoController_RemoveController(void* controller);

// Uninitialize the library
HRESULT DuoController_Uninitialize();

• Windows 10 or later (x64)
• Visual Studio 2026
• Windows Driver Kit (WDK, Nu-Get preferred)

# Open DuoController.sln in Visual Studio and build for Release x64

Apache 2.0 © 2026 Black-Seraph