10 Vehicles You Can Control With A Video Game Controller

Many vehicles utilize different control schemes, often varying based on the different mechanics and systems involved in making them move. For instance, since cars can only travel in two axes — three if you attempt a jump — you only need a steering wheel to turn the car wheels, and a pedal to make them spin. Even the coolest and strangest steering wheels don't defy this design. Meanwhile, planes and tanks are much more complex, and therefore require more specialized controls. However, that doesn't have to be the case.

When it comes to control, you can't get much more universal than the modern video game controller. These days, most gamepads are almost completely uniform in design, save for slight variations in overall shape and the location of the "X" button. Every game's control layout is generally the same: the left thumb stick controls character movement, the right controls where the camera looks, the bottom face button makes them jump or run, and so on. You can almost always break down a video game's mechanics and systems to fit a controller's button layout. The same is true for many real-world vehicles. 

In fact, video game controllers are so effective (and so many people use them) that some manufacturers are producing vehicles with control devices that resemble video game controllers. Here are some of the ways drivers can channel their gaming skills.

With the right tools and knowhow, you can modify your car in countless ways. You can improve a vehicle's performance, and install cosmetic non-performance mods, or even alternate control methods.

When most people think about modifying a car to accept alternative car control methods, they probably jump to specialized handling designed for people with disabilities. If a driver doesn't have use of their legs, they could need a custom steering wheel that also controls the gas and brake pedals. Users can even operate the controls with just one arm if need be. However, this design flexibility allows car hackers to install other alternate control schemes for their vehicles, including game controllers.

To celebrate the release of "Gran Turismo Sport," Sony and Nissan modified a Nissan GT-R so it could accept PlayStation DualShock 4 controller inputs. The left trigger controlled the brakes; the right trigger controlled the gas; the d-pad changed gears, and the left analog stick controlled the steering. However, drivers couldn't step into this modified car; controlling the vehicle was all done remotely. Plus, the controller didn't actually steer the car. Instead, the peripheral controlled a complex mechanical contraption attached to the car's wheel and pedals. Other enterprising modders have demonstrated that they can daisy chain controllers and computers into cars, but the process is far from simple.

Many car mods are standalone additions. Their changes can add up, but they are usually designed to function without any other equipment, optional or otherwise. One such mod is a system that takes control away from the driver and turns the car into an autonomous vehicle. But what if you modified the mod to control the system that controls the car?

One autonomous driving kit that can receive video game controller inputs is Polysync. This open source system is begging to be modified, and some content creators have demonstrated that you can pair a game controller with Polysync (specifically a laptop connected to Polysync) and use it to piggyback signals that can drive a car. Admittedly, Polysync representatives rigged their test car to accept video game controls, not the content creators in question, but it still worked.

Polysync isn't the only autonomous car driving kit compatible with game controller inputs. The team behind the Casual Coders YouTube channel once used a controller to steer a car controlled by the Comma 2 driving kit. Like Polysync, Comma also required a computer to act as the middleman and translate controller inputs into signals the device can recognize. However, the Casual Coders team had to struggle a bit more to make the setup work since they had to write their own script from scratch. But on the bright side, they got it to work with the best game controller of all time, the PlayStation 4 DualShock 4.

When you read the title of this article, you probably clicked on its link hoping to read an entry on Oceangate's ill-fated Titan Submersible. Well, here it is.

The Titan Submersible disaster was as every bit as horrific as it was inevitable. The people behind the submarine figuratively if not literally laughed at the concept of safety regulations. The vehicle was constructed out of titanium and carbon fiber. While these materials are durable, they have yet to be adequately tested for deep-seaworthiness. And as for controls, instead of using more tried-and-true devices and components, Oceangate's engineers cheaped out.

In 2022 — one year before the fateful accident — CBS reporters got to look inside the Titan Submersible, and during that visit, the company's CEO proudly boasted that the submarine was controlled by a single game controller. The device was almost identical to a Logitech F710 Wireless Gamepad, which you can buy for $40. The only notable difference was the thumb sticks, which were seemingly replaced with longer components that resembled miniature joysticks. While militaries use game controllers in certain vehicles (more on those later), these peripherals are usually only one part of a larger control scheme. Meanwhile, OceanGate put all its faith in the Logitech F710, which might have sealed the Titan Submersible's fate.

Sony is first and foremost a purveyor of entertainment. The company manufactures TVs, soundbars, cameras, and of course PlayStation video game consoles. Sony is now dipping its toes into the EV market, and while we don't have high hopes for its first product, anyone who owns one will have additional steering options if they also own a PlayStation 5. Probably.

In 2022, Sony announced that it would partner with Honda to develop electric vehicles, and during the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the companies unveiled the product of their partnership: the Afeela 1. Fast forward to 2024's CES, and President and COO of Sony Honda Mobility Izumi Kawanishi remotely drove an Afeela 1 prototype onto the stage using a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

Unlike the car mods we previously talked about, the DualSense controller natively controlled the Afeela 1. No overly large steering mechanisms or laptops connected to remote driving kits; just a controller piloting a car like it were in "Gran Turismo 7." Admittedly, Kawanishi stated this functionality was intended to show off the car's capabilities at the expo and isn't a planned feature, but it still leaves a door open for the future. Since the controller connectivity ran on built-in computer functionality that will ship with the car, a modder could very well reactivate that DualSense compatibility after they get their hands on the Afeela 1.

Military robots are somewhat common on the battlefield these days. Why risk a human's life disarming a bomb when a remote controlled robot can do it from a safe distance? But how do you puppeteer the robot's movements with the accuracy and dexterity necessary to deactivate an explosive? With a controller, obviously.

The United States Army has been using Xbox controllers, specifically Xbox 360 controllers, to remotely pilot robots since 2007. The logic is apparently pretty straightforward — the controllers offer a ton of buttons for different robot functions, and the familiarity of many users with the button layout cuts down on training time.

Of course, the implementation of Xbox controllers brings up an important question: How do users see what they're doing? A video of bomb disposal technicians training in Norfolk, Virginia, shows that technicians can monitor the robot's actions with a screen that covers one eye and shows them the robot's camera-based POV. Not all modern bomb disposal robots use this setup, though — the Talon 4 requires a large control unit the size and weight of an over-encumbered backpack. While the Xbox controller has the Talon 4's setup beat in terms of ergonomics and portability, the Talon 4 has a larger screen size.

In a previous entry, we discussed the Titan submarine and how its controls were relegated to a cheap PC controller. While we could say that OceanGate's reliance on the small plastic device was one of the many reasons why the vehicle was doomed to fail, nobody could blame the vehicle's implosion on the mere fact it used a gaming peripheral. Using console controllers is actually a growing tradition in the world of submersibles.

Starting in 2017, the U.S. Navy began phasing out the control sticks of Virginia-class submarines (one of the deadliest submarines in the Navy's arsenal) and replacing them with Xbox controllers. The Navy began with, understandably, the first Virginia-class sub, the USS Virginia. According to The Verge, Naval upper brass also made plans to enact similar changes in other Virginia-class subs. Since then, the USS Colorado's control stick was replaced with an Xbox controller.

Unlike the Titan, the USS Virginia and Colorado aren't wired up to solely use Xbox controller commands. The video game peripherals only control these subs' periscopes and photonic masts (sensor arrays that function like a periscope). Moreover, swapping out the control stick was a matter of ergonomics and cost. Not only were the existing periscope sticks clunky and heavy — at least according to junior officers and sailors — but they cost a whopping $38,000 each. The price of the Xbox controllers? $20. Oh, and again, the Xbox controllers cut down on training time since many users had prior experience.

The prospect of an autonomous vehicle sounds pretty tempting. Who wouldn't want to step into a car and have it drive you to your destination? However, you should always have a means to interact with the vehicle in case something goes wrong, which makes a car without a steering wheel or gas/brake pedals a tough sell. The inclusion of a gamepad-like backup helps a bit, though.

The Tesla Cybercab, alternatively known as the Robotaxi, is a contentious idea at best. The vehicle is planned to be a self-driving car with two seats and no steering wheel or pedals. Prior to 2022, the NHTSA enacted laws that required these vehicles to include steering wheels and pedals since autonomous car technology is so new it's practically embryonic. However, in 2022, these laws were repealed, paving the way for the Cybercab's roomy-but-controversial internal design. Still, unorthodox manual controls are accessible within the vehicle, just in case.

The Petersen Automotive Museum showed someone seated in the driver's seat of the Cybercab it displayed for a time in a video shared to its Instagram, apparently controlling the car with what looked like a wired gamepad. When the Cybercab releases, it will include remote control functionality, but we don't know yet if you can sync an actual Xbox controller to the vehicle. Since the Tesla Cybercab is scheduled to begin production around 2026, there's still time for the final design schematics to change.

In video games that let players control a tank, the control scheme is generally very similar in most games, regardless of platform or genre. However, controlling a real-life tank is far more complicated, but doing so with a controller is possible with some assistance.

The Carmel tank is a windowless stealthy tank prototype (as oxymoronic as it sounds) that looks like it rolled right out of a sci-fi battlefield, designed in response to issues Israeli armored vehicles encountered when navigating narrow streets during the 2014 Gaza war. This tank is literally built for suburban warfare, with support drones and a 360 panoramic vision system, but you're here to learn about its controls, not its combat capabilities.

Like many other entries on this list, most of the Carmel tank's controls are funneled through an Xbox 360 controller. This device is in charge of steering and weapon systems, but as relying on a gaming peripheral as the sole control method for vehicles is a bad idea, engineers also implemented another video games-inspired control aid: an AI. The vehicle features autonomous capabilities apparently honed using games like "DOOM" and "StarCraft II." The former was included to teach the tank navigation, threat detection, and weapon selection, while the latter was selected to help the tank adapt in real-time and approach situations based on incomplete information. No news on whether "StarCraft II" also taught the Carmel tank's AI how to deal with a Zerg Rush.

As we just went over, tanks are exceedingly complicated. You can't expect to know how to pilot one just because you've done it in a video game. However, some army engineers figured out a way to allow tank drivers to channel their video game prowess. Okay, it might just be an example of convergent evolution in engineering, but bear with us.

The U.K.'s Challenger 2 tank has been in service since 1994, seeing action in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Iraq. Like most tanks in the world, the Challenger 2 requires a team of technicians and soldiers to man its various stations, some of which should look familiar to Sony PlayStation fans.

The Challenger 2's commander and gunner both utilize a control device that heavily resembles an oversized original PlayStation controller — before Sony added two thumb sticks, that is. While the Challenger 2's controls are identical in form, they fulfill different purposes. Whereas the commander can use their "controller" to swing the turret around to face targets, the gunner can swap between day vision and thermal imaging, zoom in their sights, change weapons, and of course fire at targets. The gun's trigger is even placed in the same location as the trigger buttons on modern game controllers. If the Challenger 2 tank's sights are destroyed, however, crew members have to rely on the same backup systems utilized in tanks since World War II.

While the Challenger 2 tank's controller is shaped like a game console peripheral, the device is comically large — handling it is more like using a controller-shaped steering wheel than an actual game controller. However, military engineers have designed other vehicles users can pilot with devices that resemble video game controllers in both shape and size.

The U.S. Army's Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) is an armored military vehicle developed by Leonardo DRS. The Army planned for three models (dubbed "increments"), each fielding different armaments. These included Longbow Hellfire missiles, Stinger missiles, and even a 50 kW laser. While Leonardo DRS didn't design the M-SHORAD to be compatible with Xbox controllers, you'd have a tough time convincing me those peripherals didn't play at least some part in the control design process.

At first glance, the M-SHORAD's controller looks like a heavily customized Nintendo Gamecube controller, but it is actually something called the Freedom of Movement Control Unit (FMCU), which has been available since 2008. Thanks to its modifiable button configurations, this device can integrate with far more than just the M-SHORAD. Soldiers can use the FMCU to control UAVs, turrets, robots, and remote weapons stations. The FMCU is also utilized in numerous experimental unmanned vehicles, as well as the Constellation-class frigate's AN/SAY-A Electro-Optic Sensor System.