How to Fix Controller Not Working in Modern Warfare 2

In the gaming world, there is no discrimination. It doesn’t matter if you want to play with a keyboard and mouse or a controller. We all are gamers and we stand united. The real issue is when our preferred controller type doesn’t work like it is supposed to.

There is a bug in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 where the controller doesn’t work properly or sometimes doesn’t work at all. Fear not because we have got the exact solution you need to make it work.

Controller Is Not Working in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

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Modern Warfare 2 just released and everyone is jumping on to play the campaign we all have been so eagerly waiting for. Unfortunately, the problem in the beta version seems to have carried into the main release as well. It is the controller not working or showing up when you try to connect it.

This issue is not specifically with Call of Duty, rather it is a problem that is commonly faced when you are using steam to run your games. Steam has a feature that will allow you to play any game that has controller support with any type of controller – PlayStation or Xbox.

What steam will do is it will automatically translate the controller input to the matching input in the game. This is not a perfect feature and often times it ends up conflicting with inputs and renders the controller useless. Other times it will not let you shift your input type to the controller so it is better to just not use it at all and disable it.

How to Disable Steam Input For Controller?

As we have discussed before what Steam Input does and how it can pose an issue where the controller will not work in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it is best to disable this feature. To disable Steam Input, follow the steps below.

  1. Open Steam and right-click on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in your library.
  2. Go to Properties and navigate to the Controller tab
  3. In the controller tab, you will see “Enable Steam Input”. Change it to “Disable Steam Input”.
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  1. Once you are done, just restart steam and run Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Other Solutions to Controller Not Working Issue in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

If the above solution doesn’t solve your problem then there are some other workarounds that you can try to rectify the situation. Below we have mentioned all of them.

Update Controller’s Driver

Almost all hardware devices get firmware and driver updates that fix small issues that people are facing while using them. It is best to keep the controller’s driver updated to avoid any issues in the future or fix a currently present one. Different controllers require different methods to update drivers.

How to Update Xbox Controller Driver on PC?

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To update the Xbox Controller driver on PC you will need the Xbox Accessories App which you can download from Microsoft Store. Once you have the app, just open it and connect your controller using a USB cable. If there is an update required, it will automatically download and install.

For other controllers, you can check out their official website for more information on how to update the drivers.

Unplug and Replug Your Controller

This is the world’s simplest yet most viable solution to tons of problems – unplug and replug it. If your controller is connected via USB, just take it out and plug it into another port and if you are connected via Bluetooth, just disconnect and reconnect again.

DualShock / DualSense Controllers


If you are facing problems connecting the Dualshock/Dualsense controller, please use this workaround:

  1. Make sure your controller has enough battery (above 10%), and then restart your PC.
  2. Open Control Panel
  3. Click on Devices and Printers inside the Control Panel
  4. Search for the Bluetooth PS4/PS5 controller in the list
  5. Right-click on it
  6. Select Remove device
  7. Select Yes and you should be good to go

These solutions should solve the controller not working issue in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. If you want to check out more content on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, click here.

Shavez Arif
Shavez Arif

Caffeine-dependant, not-so-hardcore gamer who for some reason loves every FPS game with a toxic fanbase - Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant to name a few. I love to write and when I am not doing that, you will find me bingeing anime and casually banging my head against a wall trying to fix a bug in my code because that's what a Computer Science major does.

One comment

  1. Yes, I’ve experienced this even though my controller was connected. All i did was reset the controller with the small pinhole on the back and re sync the controller under manage blu-tooth devices and it resolved the problem. Hope they get this taken care off, it’s kinda nerve racking. Originally i thought the system it self had hard locked or the game froze, as it turns out the controller had completely turned off.

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