Xbox Controller Assist allows you to combine the inputs from two controllers, so that two people can play as one player in-game. Alternatively, one person can use this feature to divide the controls between two controllers to play in a more comfortable or accessible way. The feature was first launched in 2017 and originally called ‘Copilot’.
You can pair two licensed Xbox controllers, such as two ‘standard’ Xbox Wireless Controllers or one standard Xbox Wireless Controller and an Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC). You could also pair two XACs.
The feature is available on Xbox Series S/X and Xbox One consoles and Windows 10/11 PCs. In this article, we will be looking at how to use the feature on an Xbox console.
Method 1 – Via the Guide Menu
The video above shows how to access the Xbox Controller Assist feature via the guide menu, with the step-by-step process also illustrated below.
1. Open the Guide menu by pressing the Xbox button on your primary controller and it will open as a side bar:
2. Navigate to the right to the Profile & system menu, then down to Settings:
3. Once the Settings menu opens, navigate down to Accessibility, then across to Controller:
4. Then open Controller assist settings. Whichever controller you enter this menu with will be your primary controller:
5. Navigate down the options and select Turn on Controller assist. In the example below, we are using an XAC as the primary controller and pairing a Wireless Xbox Controller to it as the assisting controller:
6. If you have two controllers connected to your Xbox at this time, it will automatically make the second controller the assisting controller:
If you have three or more controllers connected, it will ask you which of them you would like to be your assisting controller. If these are standard Xbox Wireless Controllers, for example, they will look identical on-screen, so it will make each vibrate so you can distinguish them to choose one:
Below we will go through turning on the same Controller Assist feature, but accessing it through a different method.
Method 2 – Via the Xbox Accessories App
The video above shows how to access the Xbox Controller Assist feature via the Xbox Accessories App, with the step-by-step process also illustrated below.
1. You can open the Xbox Accessories App to access the Controller Assist feature. You can navigate directly to the app, either on your home screen (if it appears there),
or via the My games & apps menu accessed from the top of your Xbox home screen:
and then navigating down to Apps to find the Xbox Accessories App within this screen:
2. Once selected, the app will open (opening/loading screen shown below):
3. Navigate to the three dots below your primary controller. In the example below, we are using an XAC as the primary controller and pairing a Wireless Xbox Controller to it as the assisting controller:
4. Navigate down the options and select Turn on Controller assist:
5. If you have two controllers connected to your Xbox at this time, it will automatically make the second controller the assisting controller.
If you have three or more controllers connected, it will ask you which of them you would like to be your assisting controller. If these are standard Xbox Wireless Controllers, for example, they will look identical on-screen, so it will make each vibrate briefly so you can distinguish them to choose one:
Turning Off Controller Assist
To turn off Controller Assist, navigate to your primary controller within the Xbox Accessories App or via the console’s Settings menu and select Turn off Controller assist:
We hope that this guide has been useful for turning on the Xbox Controller Assist feature on your Xbox console. The latest information from Xbox on this feature can be found here: https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/account-profile/accessibility/copilot.
For more information on gamepads for Xbox consoles, please use our ‘gamepads‘ sub-category under ‘equipment’. For more information on the Xbox Adaptive Controller, please use our ‘XAC‘ tag. Finally, for more ideas on how to play cooperatively, please see our ‘How to play cooperatively on console‘ video.