Linux 7.4 gets a driver for Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, written for Valve

The Linux 7.4 HID merge adds a first driver for the Joy-Con 2, Pro Controller 2 and GameCube controllers for Switch 2, written by Vicki Pfau on behalf of Valve. Bluetooth pairing comes later.

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Nintendo's Switch 2 controllers are getting support in the Linux kernel. Phoronix reports that the HID subsystem updates merged for Linux 7.4 include a new driver for them, and that it went in after sixteen rounds of revisions.

The work was led by Vicki Pfau, who wrote it on behalf of Valve. The driver's USB source file, shown in Phoronix's report, carries a Valve Software copyright line.

What works in this first version

In the patch notes quoted by Phoronix, Pfau writes: "This initial work supports general input for the Joy-Con 2, Pro Controller 2, and GameCube NSO controllers." That last one is the GameCube-style pad Nintendo sells for its Nintendo Switch Online GameCube library.

The controllers are awkward to talk to. Pfau explains that the Switch 2 uses an "unusual split-interface design": input and rumble go over the main HID interface, while everything else goes over a separate configuration interface, on both USB and Bluetooth. The driver mirrors that, with a main HID driver and a second driver for the configuration side that share their resources.

Bluetooth is not there yet. Because the controllers use a non-standard way of pairing, and Bluetooth support inside the kernel is very limited, Pfau says a custom interface between the kernel and user space will need to be designed, along with work in BlueZ, the Linux Bluetooth stack. That is outside this first patch, which contains only the generic HID driver and the USB configuration driver.

Also in the same merge

The Linux 7.4 HID pull brings other gaming hardware fixes as well. A new hid-pulsar driver covers Pulsar gaming mice such as the X2 V2, X2H, X2A and Xlite V3, showing battery level, voltage and charging status over a cable or the 1KHz and 4KHz wireless dongles, and it also works with a few VXE and Kysona mice that use the same protocol. There is a power management fix for the ASUS ROG Ally handhelds, another for the Apple Touch Bar, and support for upcoming AMD Zen 6 Ryzen chips in the AMD Sensor Fusion Hub driver.

Sources

Image: Image: Nintendo, via Phoronix