Older joysticks (15-pin gameport) have no native support on Windows 11 (64-bit). You need a (e.g., “DB15 to USB” for CH Products, Logitech WingMan, or Gravis).
While XInput translation is the star, a good universal driver suite offers: universal joystick driver for windows 11 work
// Inside your EVT_WDF_DEVICE_PREPARE_HARDWARE callback NTSTATUS ParseReportDescriptor( _In_ PUCHAR reportDescriptor, _In_ ULONG descriptorSize ) // Walk through the HID descriptor items HIDP_REPORT_INFO reportInfo = 0; HidP_GetCaps(reportDescriptor, &reportInfo.caps); for (ULONG i = 0; i < reportInfo.caps.NumberInputValueCaps; i++) HIDP_VALUE_CAPS valueCaps; HidP_GetValueCaps(HidP_Input, &valueCaps, 1, &reportInfo); Older joysticks (15-pin gameport) have no native support
If you see an "Unknown Device," right-click it and select > Search automatically . Windows 11 does not have one single "universal
Windows 11 does not have one single "universal driver" file you download. Instead, it relies on built-in class drivers that automatically support most joysticks and gamepads . For controllers that aren't recognized or need special features, you typically use an emulation tool to make Windows treat them like a standard Xbox controller. 1. Built-in Windows 11 Support (Plug-and-Play)
Right-click the device (it may appear as "Unknown Device") and select .