Xbox controllers ship with a firmware bug out of the box (thanks microslop!), you need to update the firmware to make them work properly on Linux, but it needs to be done through windows as explained in this section in the Arch Wiki. EDIT: you still need to install the xpadneo driver once your firmware is updated.

A decent option for those of us that don't have and don't want to have windows around is to bring your controller with you to a computer shop, along with a usb cable, and use one of the demo computers to update it.

If spending money is an option, a lot of people already recommended 8bitdo controllers, I can only say I agree with that. I have the ultimate 2c, which is about ~30 eur, comes with hall effect joysticks, so no stick drift ever, and uses a dongle for the wireless connection, with an option to use bluetooth as well. Plus they come in some really pretty color combinations. Hard to beat that for the money.

I’ve never tried Cachy OS or played fifa lately, but I always test every possible situation before inviting people in front of one of my computers.

That way, they only see a curated and tested version of the Linux world.

But it’s not like I’ve converted anyone😅

Xbox controllers were always very unstable for me, I switched to 8bitdo and it's been problem free. Also no more stick drift.

I remember when the xbox controller didn't work on windows. Stupid Microsoft

The Xbox One controller is a bit goofy. I noticed the newest firmware actually makes it misbehave with the usual stack under linux. Haven't had the time to debug since my controller was on it's last legs anyway. Try rolling it back a release or 2.

Use Steam for SteamInput even if you get your games from Somewhere else.

Your friends laughing at you is born of ignorance.

Regardless whether you can play a game or not, you have more power at your fingertips than they will ever get to experience if they continue to use Windows.

ArchWiki is your friend

Hey, yeah, shit like that happens in life. The jokes about that from your friends are understandable but inconsequential. After all, you probably love Linux not because everything is plug-and-play here, but because it's free and customizable (and you can set up a lot of things to be plug-and-play, too, if that's what you want).

By the way, heads-up on connecting Android phones for file exchange: those require the MPT driver, too. Some distros/desktop environments ship it out-of-the-box, some don't.

And last thought from a social angle. With experience of using Linux and talking with other people in the last ~18 years, I would recommend not to advertise Linux, to yourself or to others, as a system that "can do everything that Windows can". That's just not true. Some stuff Windows can do that Linux cannot, some stuff Linux can do that Windows cannot. For me it worked best to get people interested in Linux if I:

• Don't push hard. I answer any inquiries eagerly, but I leave people the space to stay where they are. If they believe something is really good for them, I let them have it. Good advertising moments come themselves when people themselves note that they're actually lacking something.

• I teach, and more rarely do I just do something directly. I've noticed this keeps people engaged longer. "Don't give the fish, teach how to fish".

• Sometimes it's fun to share the awesome things you can do in Linux. And many people don't know that all the routers, Android phones and servers are near-100% Linux. Learning that impresses them and seems count towards "good reputation" for the system in their eyes, too. (And it's a true fact.)

I'm the only linux user in my group of friends and fortunately my switch didn't change anything.

I never was late or anything to play because every game starts well now. My controller only works when steam is started though so I think I still can improve that by installing the steam compatibility driver package thing.

Honestly dont give up OP. Once you will have completely setup your games and got to know your system better it will run fine.

I also hated Windows so much I moved to cachyos earlier this year and I'm not turning back. Also I have never played as much video games since my switch to cachyos. The change of OS and the fact that I again feel "in control" of my computer again had somehow reinvigorated my fun playing games with friends.

Basically, OP, dont give up! If I can make it everyday with my group of friends, you can manage it too with yours (even if they sound rather immature). Honestly once you will have setup games on proton so many times you will be able to avoid most problems in a matter of minutes.

IE we bought and played a game on a whim with 4 players. It wasn't working on cachyos-proton so I quickly changed it to my emergency GE-Proton compatibility and it worked right away.

Games and gaming hardware are not designed to run on linux. A distinct difference from linux doesn't run games or games don't work on linux. In the ideal world developers would make games operating system agnostic. Sadly they do not.

That said, anticipate that you might have problem, and plan your gaming sessions accordingly. Test your games ahead of time. Consult protondb when things don't go your way. Steer your friends toward games you know work.

That's because of the proprietary drivers of Microsoft. I use Xbox controllers for years since Xbox 360 days on my PC as my main gamepad. Since the Xbox One era we needed to use a third party community maintained driver, for use with the official dongle from Microsoft. It usually works perfectly, after the initial setup and installation of the driver. But from time to time, it can break for days until an update is out (such as when the driver becomes incompatible with a new Linux Kernel release).

This is why I'm done with Xbox gamepads on Linux and purchased an 8Bitdo gamepad (and later the new Steam Controller to play specifically on Steam).

I'm no expert, but is it possible you had an Xbox one controller, and didn't have the correct driver? A quick google indicated that it took the xpadneo driver.

What controllers do you have besides the xbox one controller?

I have an xbox 360 controller and it's plug and play. Just happened to use it yesterday to play cuphead through Lutris.

I also play with PS3 controllers and Wiimotes.

I don't have any of the latest generation controllers.

I use an Xbox One Elite V2 Controller with the official MS Wireless adapter with Xone. It isn't the most reliable, but it usually works fine.

User runs Linux.

User wants a MS controller playing nice.

🤦‍♂️

Not to make fun of you specifically, but to illustrate bigger truth here...

"I'm a bear and I try to avoid the bear trap company and their sponsored section of the forest. I want to play with my friends, who are bears as well, but also big supporters of the bear trap company and they always want to play in the company's forest. Problem is the company makes you wear a special pair of shoes to enter their forest - the shoes cost a lot of money and they also actively track your position and record your conversations so that hunters can more easily find you (and your loved ones) to target and hurt you all. My friends exclusively buy/wear those shoes regardless of being in the company's forest and they laugh at me because I don't... What should I do so they will like me? The worst part, if I just give up and buy the shoes, it will solve the problem designed by the company to trap me and pit me against friends and I'll be allowed in the forest"

Solution: step one, get new friends.

When I used to use windows, I tried buying an using Xbox controllers on 2 different occasions and both times had to return the control because I simply couldn't get it working.

Last time I tried using my Xbox controller, I found that it was very unstable using Bluetooth or a USB-C to A cable, but just fine with USB-C all the way. 🤷