Does Marvel Rivals have controller support?

The hype for Marvel Rivals is real. The idea of an Overwatch-like hero shooter with Marvel characters and locations is almost too good to be true.

But as a PC-only game so far, it may be too good to be true for those who like to play their games with a controller rather than a mouse and keyboard. Eventually, the game will most likely come to consoles and, therefore, work with controllers, but PC players may have questions.

As a third-person hero shooter, Marvel Rivals looks like it would be perfect for controller players. Like other third-person action games, it just naturally feels good to play on a controller.

Here’s everything we know so far about whether or not Marvel Rivals has controller support.

Marvel Rivals controller support, explained

Yes, Marvel Rivals supports the use of a controller as of the closed alpha test in May 2024. NetEase revealed the news in an announcement about the alpha test on April 26, confirming for controller users that “this test will support your gear, so give it a try and share your experiences with us.”

Marvel Rivals’ alpha test is limited to just 30,000 participants mostly in the U.S. and Canada, so space is limited, but it will be a great chance to test out controllers in the game and give feedback to the developers on how it feels.

From my own experience, controllers work great on PC with Marvel Rivals and the signs are promising for those who don’t want to dive into the action on mouse and keyboard.

How to use a controller in Marvel Rivals

Playing with a controller is easy in Marvel Rivals, as you only need to plug a controller into your PC for the game to recognize it. Once you hit a button, a small notice will appear informing you that you are switching devices.

You can easily switch back to mouse and keyboard at any point by using either of those devices, which is great as it’s easier to navigate the menus with a mouse rather than a controller, and it can also make it quicker to select a hero to play as.

At the very least, ensure that you have controllers enabled on Steam, where Marvel Rivals is found. And make sure to use controllers that are commonly accepted by PC games, such as USB controllers like an Xbox gaming controller or PlayStation’s DualSense or DualShock 4.