Steam – Is it possible to play local multiplayer Steam games with wireless xbox one controllers on macOS

controllersmacossteamxbox-one

I want to know if it is possible to play Steam games that support local multiplayer game modes(such as stick fight, Nidhogg2, Rocket League, etc.) using 2(or more) Xbox One wireless controllers on macOS. I understand that this is probably not the best system for PC gaming, but I want to know if there is a solution nonetheless.

I'm running macOS High Sierra version 10.13.4 on a MacBook Pro. Currently I can connect both controllers to my MacBook Pro through Bluetooth and play some Steam games in single player or online multiplayer modes without problems, navigate Steam's Big Picture Mode with both controllers perfectly fine, and even open games that support local multiplayer modes with the games recognizing both controllers; But it appears that the controllers interfere with each other in varying ways(such as partial movement of controls, excessive movement of controls, both controllers controlling the same characters, etc.). I don't know if this is because Bluetooth can't handle the amount of data that is being received, if Steam isn't interpreting the controllers correctly, or if it is the specific games that aren't receiving the data from the controllers correctly.

I admit that I haven't done a ton of testing with different games and configurations to understand what exactly is the problem(such as trying wired controllers, controller and keyboard combinations, different games, etc.) but I'm not exactly sure where to start.

I understand that the fix for Windows would be pretty simple(at least for some games) by buying a wireless adapter from Microsoft or other third-parties that supports multiple controllers(such as this one: Microsoft Wireless Adapter ); But I'm not sure what to do on macOS. Is there a wireless adapter that supports the controllers for macOS with steam?(This one looks potentially promising: 8bit adapter) Is there driver software that can correctly take the input from the two controllers and import it into the game?(XPadder, or maybe Frantic Rain's driver?)

All I'm asking is what would be the most practical way, if there is one.

Best Answer

Here's what Microsoft says about connecting Xbox controllers to your Windows 10 PC over Bluetooth:

We recommend connecting only one controller at a time using Bluetooth.

https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-on-windows/accessories/connect-xbox-one-controller-to-pc

Since that's the official line on Windows 10, it's probably no different on OSX. It might work better to use multiple Bluetooth receivers with one controller connected to each.