CouchMode

Controller-first gaming utility for Windows.

Public beta now available

Turn your gaming PC into couch mode.

Turn on your controller and CouchMode opens your chosen gaming experience, prepares the session around your preferences, and brings you back to a usable desktop when you’re done.

Download for WindowsMicrosoft StoreExplore Pro features

Windows 11 · 64-bit · Signed public beta

CouchMode · General
CouchMode General controller and launcher settings.
CouchMode Resource Control application cleanup settings.
CouchMode Session Tweaks performance and Windows settings.

The gap

Windows works.It just wasn't built for the couch.

Your desktop works well at a desk. From the couch, small text, mouse-first menus, and background apps can get in the way of a controller-first gaming session. CouchMode bridges that gap without replacing Windows or taking over your PC.

  • Designed for the big screen

    Windows desktop interfaces are built for close viewing. CouchMode helps move the session into a controller-friendly gaming experience.

  • Controller-first

    CouchMode can react when a compatible controller connects and start the gaming experience you selected.

  • Leaves your setup intact

    CouchMode changes only the supported session settings you enable and restores the settings it changed when the session ends.

How it works

From controller to couch.

CouchMode handles the session flow around the launcher and Windows settings you choose. Free covers the essential controller-first flow. Pro adds deeper session automation.

  1. STEP 01

    Turn on your controller

    Wake your Xbox or compatible controller. CouchMode can listen in the background and start your couch session automatically.

    Auto-detected · No app to open

  2. STEP 02

    CouchMode opens your chosen gaming experience

    Use the Windows Xbox full-screen experience where supported, or choose Steam Big Picture or Playnite. All three are free. Other compatible custom launchers are available with Pro.

    Xbox, Steam and Playnite are Free · Custom launchers with Pro

  3. STEP 03

    Pro prepares the session

    Pro can close the desktop apps you select through Resource Control and apply the supported session settings you choose, including notifications, Game Bar recording, visual effects, Game Mode, power plan, HDR, display and audio.

    Pro · 7-day in-app trial

  4. STEP 04

    Return to your desktop

    When the session ends, CouchMode exits the gaming experience it started, restores the Windows settings it changed and returns control to the desktop.

    Free + Pro · Safe session return

A closer look

More of the Pro settings, straight from the app.

These are real CouchMode screens, not mockups. Select any screen to view it larger.

Free vs Pro

Free for the launchers you use. Pro for deeper automation.

The controller-first session flow is free, and so are Xbox, Steam Big Picture and Playnite. Pro adds custom launchers, Resource Control, Session Tweaks, and deeper restore automation.

Free

$0forever

Core controller-first session flow.

  • Start from your controller
  • Xbox full-screen experience where Windows supports it
  • Steam Big Picture
  • Playnite Fullscreen
  • Start with Windows
  • Safe session exit and desktop return
  • Language and theme
Included in Free
7-day in-app trial

Pro

Everything in Free, plus deeper automation.

CouchMode manages the session it starts, then restores the desktop settings it changed.

  • Compatible custom launchers
  • Resource Control for the apps you select
  • Session Tweaks: notifications, Game Bar recording, visual effects, Game Mode, power plan, HDR, display, and audio
  • Restores the supported Windows settings CouchMode changed
  • Reopens selected Resource Control apps when configured
  • Up to 2 active Windows devices with Pro
  • Up to 5 active Windows devices with Pro Supporter
Get Pro with Patreon

Pro access requires an active Patreon membership after the trial. Pro is $3/month and includes 2 active Windows devices. Pro Supporter is $5/month and includes 5 active Windows devices.

Practical setup notes

Windows Couch Gaming Guides

Straight answers for Playnite, Steam Big Picture, TV setups, controllers, and docked Windows handhelds.

View all guides
Playnite

How to Open Playnite Fullscreen with a Controller

Use Playnite's controller-ready Fullscreen mode, then optionally start it when Windows detects a compatible XInput controller. Includes existing-window and focus checks.

Updated Sep 11, 2026

Steam Big Picture

How to Open Steam Big Picture with a Controller

Open Steam Big Picture with an Xbox or supported controller. Learn Steam's native option, then set up an optional CouchMode session without taking over Steam already in use.

Updated Sep 11, 2026

Windows Couch Gaming

How to Make a Windows 11 Gaming PC Feel More Like a Console

Build a controller-first Windows 11 living-room workflow with Xbox full-screen where available, Steam Big Picture, or Playnite.

Updated Sep 11, 2026

Ready to make your PC couch-native?

Download the signed Windows public beta and start with a 7-day in-app Pro trial. No account or credit card is required for the in-app trial.

Download for WindowsView release notes
Direct downloadOpen · 0.6.0-rc.10Microsoft StoreLiveWindows 11 · 64-bit

CouchMode supports controller-first Windows handheld setups, including devices such as ROG Ally. Where Windows provides the Xbox full-screen experience, CouchMode can start or adopt that session and return control to the desktop when the session ends. Availability and behavior depend on the device, Windows version, Xbox app support, region and Microsoft rollout.

Questions

Built for the way PC players actually start a couch session.

CouchMode is designed for Windows PCs used with a TV or in a controller-first setup. These answers explain what it can start, what it can automate, and what depends on Windows support.

CouchMode is a controller-first gaming utility for Windows. It can start a couch gaming session when a compatible controller connects, open your chosen gaming experience and restore the supported settings it changed when the session ends.

No. CouchMode does not replace Explorer, the Windows shell or your launcher. It works around Windows and your existing gaming applications.

Only the supported session actions you enable. CouchMode can open a gaming experience, close selected apps through Resource Control, and temporarily apply supported notification, display, audio, HDR, power and gaming settings. It restores the settings it changed when the session ends.

With Pro Resource Control, you choose which supported apps CouchMode may close for the session and whether they should reopen afterward. Apps you do not select are not intentionally closed. Services, elevated apps, protected system components and apps that relaunch themselves may remain.

Yes, and Steam Big Picture is free. Xbox full-screen where Windows supports it, Steam Big Picture and Playnite Fullscreen are all available without Pro. Other launchers are set up through the compatible custom launcher option, which needs Pro.

Yes, and it is free. Choose Playnite as your launch target, and CouchMode opens Playnite Fullscreen when a compatible controller connects. If Playnite is already open, CouchMode uses the instance you already have instead of starting a second copy.

CouchMode starts and ends sessions using controllers that Windows exposes as Xbox (XInput) controllers. A PlayStation controller connected in its native mode is not used to start or end a session, and CouchMode says so rather than showing it as connected. Where a setup presents a PlayStation controller to Windows as an XInput controller, CouchMode treats it like any other XInput controller.

If Exit CouchMode when controller disconnects is enabled, disconnection triggers session exit after the configured delay. Reconnecting during that delay can cancel the pending exit. CouchMode checks its session ownership and the actual state before exiting, restores the supported settings it changed, and verifies a safe desktop return. It does not forcibly close launchers or apps that you opened independently or that were already open before the session.

Yes, and it is free. Playnite Fullscreen can be used as a launch target without Pro. CouchMode is designed to work around existing launchers rather than replace them.

CouchMode can work with the Windows Xbox full-screen experience where Windows provides it. If it is unavailable, CouchMode can open the normal Xbox app instead. Availability depends on Windows, the Xbox app, device support, region and Microsoft rollout.

If Windows Xbox full-screen is not available on your device, CouchMode can open the Xbox app normally instead. Xbox full-screen availability depends on Windows, the Xbox app, the device, and Microsoft rollout.

ROG Ally and similar Windows handhelds are an important supported device class. Actual Xbox full-screen behavior still depends on Windows and Xbox app support on that device.

On supported handhelds, CouchMode can use an admin-approved scheduled task to start alongside the Windows Xbox full-screen experience. Normal desktop startup remains separate.

No. The 7-day in-app Pro trial requires no account and no credit card. Ongoing Pro access is handled through Patreon and requires an active Patreon membership.

After the in-app trial, connect Patreon in CouchMode to keep Pro active. Pro is $3/month for up to 2 active Windows devices. Pro Supporter is $5/month for up to 5 active Windows devices.

Pro features return to Free after the entitlement refresh and grace behavior defined by the app. Your settings remain stored, and the Free session flow remains available.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F12 while the problem is still visible. CouchMode saves a snapshot of the current window state to its own file in %APPDATA%\CouchMode, alongside app.log. It changes nothing on screen, and it works whether or not debug logging is turned on. Nothing is uploaded automatically: the file stays on your PC, and you choose what to send. Attach it, and app.log, when you contact support.

CouchMode does not promise FPS gains. Pro can reduce session clutter by closing selected apps and can apply supported Windows session settings such as Game Mode and a selected power plan, then restore them when the session ends.

Yes. CouchMode is on Microsoft Store, alongside the signed installer on couchmode.app/download. View CouchMode on Microsoft Store

Both are official ways to install CouchMode and provide the same CouchMode experience. Direct download installs it from couchmode.app, with a published SHA256 you can verify yourself; Microsoft Store is an additional trusted place to find and install it. CouchMode's built-in updater handles application updates either way.

CouchMode uses its own built-in update system. Microsoft Store is an additional official installation channel; application updates are handled by CouchMode itself.

Yes. The 7-day in-app Pro trial works the same way in both, with no account and no card.

Yes. Pro access is tied to your CouchMode licence, not to where you installed it from, so connecting Patreon works identically in both.

No. CouchMode is available as a direct download and on Microsoft Store. Note that CouchMode can open Steam Big Picture for you; that is separate from CouchMode itself being distributed on Steam.