Does it work on any computer?

Yes. Windows, Mac, Linux — any computer that supports USB gamepads.

Can I use it for PC gaming?

Yes. It shows up as a standard gamepad. Map buttons in Steam or any game's settings.

How many buttons can I add?

Up to 16 on GPIO pins. The code supports 6 by default.

All guides

intermediate10 September 2026

Build a Game Controller

USB gamepad with arcade buttons, joystick and 3D-printed case.

What you’ll build

Your own game controller that any computer recognises as a proper gamepad. Arcade buttons, a joystick, and a case you designed yourself. Then you remap every button to do whatever you want.

Before you start: Plug any gamepad into your computer. Open your computer’s controller settings and press each button. Notice how the computer sees it as a simple list of buttons? That’s all we’re doing — building that list ourselves.

🤔 Challenge: Before you wire anything, open a text editor and make a list of all the buttons on a gamepad (Up, Down, Left, Right, A, B, Start, Select…). This is basically what the computer sees!

What you need

Part	What it does
ESP32-S3 dev board	The brain + USB gamepad
6x 30mm arcade buttons	Your buttons
Joystick module	Directional pad
3D-printed case	Holds everything
Wires + breadboard	Connections
USB-C cable	Power + data

💡 Important: You need the ESP32-S3 specifically — it has USB OTG support which lets it act as a USB device (gamepad). Regular ESP32 boards cannot do this.

🤔 Where to buy: Search “ESP32-S3 dev kit” — you want one with the USB-C connector and the pins broken out. Also search for “30mm arcade button” and “joystick module” on any electronics shop.

USB game controller with arcade buttons and joystick

Step 1: Understand USB gamepads

When you press a button on a gamepad, the computer receives a simple message: “Button 1 is pressed”. That’s it. No complex data — just a list of on/off states.

  What your computer receives:
  ┌──────────────────────────┐
  │ Button 1: OFF  │   │ ON │
  │ Button 2: OFF  │   │ ON │
  │ Button 3: OFF  │   │ ON │
  │ ...             │   │    │
  │ Joystick X: 0   │ → │ 327 │ ← (range: -32768 to 32767)
  │ Joystick Y: 0   │ → │ -12 │
  └──────────────────────────┘

🤔 USB gamepad vs keyboard: A keyboard sends “A” or “Space”. A gamepad sends “Button 1”. Both tell the computer “do this thing”, but gamepads are designed for simultaneous inputs (pressing 3 buttons at once). Keyboards can too, but gamepads are better at it.

Step 2: Wire the buttons

Each arcade button has 2 pins. When pressed, they connect:

  Button 1     Button 2     Button 3
  [    ]       [    ]       [    ]
   │ │          │ │          │ │
   │ └── GND    │ └── GND    │ └── GND
   └──── GPIO 2 └──── GPIO 3 └──── GPIO 4

All buttons share GND but connect to different GPIO pins:

Button	ESP32 Pin	What it does (default)
1	GPIO 2	Jump / Action A
2	GPIO 3	Run / Action B
3	GPIO 4	Attack / Action X
4	GPIO 5	Use item / Action Y
5	GPIO 6	Shield
6	GPIO 7	Start / Select

💡 Wiring tip: The arcade buttons have a plastic clip — press the clip to release the button, then press it through the hole in your case. Tighten the nut from the back to hold it in place.

🤔 Why INPUT_PULLUP? Without it, the pin would “float” — reading random HIGH/LOW values. INPUT_PULLUP connects the pin to 3.3V through a resistor inside the ESP32. When the button is NOT pressed, the pin reads HIGH. When pressed, it connects to GND and reads LOW. Simple!

Step 3: Wire the joystick

The joystick module has 5 pins: VCC, GND, SW (switch press), X (horizontal), Y (vertical).

  Joystick Module
  VCC → 5V
  GND → GND
  X → A0 (analog — left/right position)
  Y → A1 (analog — up/down position)
  SW → GPIO 8 (button press on the joystick)

🤔 Test it now: Upload a blank sketch, then open the Serial Monitor. Run analogRead(A0) and move the joystick left and right. The number should change smoothly from about 0 to 4095. Do the same on A1 for up/down. If it doesn’t change, check your wiring.

Step 4: Install the USB HID library

The ESP32 Arduino core includes the USB HID (Human Interface Device) library. You don’t install it — just use it:

#include "USB.h"
#include "USBHIDGamepad.h"

🤔 What is HID? Human Interface Device — the technical name for keyboards, mice, gamepads and other input devices. Your computer has built-in support for HID devices, which is why you don’t need to install drivers.

Step 5: First button test

USBHIDGamepad gamepad;

void setup() {
  USB.begin();
  gamepad.begin();

  pinMode(2, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(3, INPUT_PULLUP);
  // ... repeat for all 6 buttons
}

void loop() {
  // Read button 1
  if (digitalRead(2) == LOW) {
    gamepad.press(1 << 0); // press bit 0 (Button 1)
  } else {
    gamepad.release(1 << 0); // release bit 0
  }

  gamepad.commit(); // send the report to the computer
  delay(10); // small delay to prevent duplicate inputs
}

What this does:

1 << 0 — shifts the number 1 left by 0 positions = 00000001 = Button 1
1 << 1 = 00000010 = Button 2 (and so on)
gamepad.press(...) — tells the computer “this button is held down”
gamepad.release(...) — tells the computer “this button is no longer pressed”
gamepad.commit() — sends the whole report

🤔 Try this: Open Windows → Game Controllers settings. You should see your ESP32 listed. Click “Properties” and press buttons — they should light up in the tester.

Step 6: Make it useful

Map buttons to specific actions:

void loop() {
  // Read all 6 buttons
  for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
    int pin = 2 + i;
    if (digitalRead(pin) == LOW) {
      // Map button i to a specific game action
      switch (i) {
        case 0: gamepad.press(GAMEPAD_BUTTON_1); break; // A
        case 1: gamepad.press(GAMEPAD_BUTTON_2); break; // B
        case 2: gamepad.press(GAMEPAD_BUTTON_3); break; // X
        case 3: gamepad.press(GAMEPAD_BUTTON_4); break; // Y
        case 4: gamepad.press(GAMEPAD_BUTTON_5); break; // L1
        case 5: gamepad.press(GAMEPAD_BUTTON_6); break; // Start
      }
    } else {
      gamepad.releaseAll(); // release all buttons when this one is up
    }
  }

  // Read joystick position
  int x = map(analogRead(A0), 0, 4095, -32768, 32767);
  int y = map(analogRead(A1), 0, 4095, -32768, 32767);
  gamepad.axisX(x);
  gamepad.axisY(y);

  gamepad.commit();
  delay(10);
}