This demo is the full Couchpit.

Every feature, free for 14 days from the first time you open it. After that it keeps working for good, in basic mode.

In basic mode, your gamepad still drives Windows with the shortcuts, the action wheel and the cheat sheet that come built in, non-Xbox pads still work in Xbox-only games (you switch it on yourself), and the system tweaks, the timer and your play-time stats stay.

The full version adds what Couchpit does for you without you touching anything: you open a game and it moves the sound to the TV, sets the screens and the power plan, mutes notifications and pauses background apps, and puts everything back when you quit. It also lets you change the shortcuts, the wheel and the per-game setup.

Buy it whenever you like and carry on where you left off. Your profiles and settings are still there.

Press play. Couchpit handles the rest.

You have a PC, a TV, a couch and a gamepad. The tedious part is everything between sitting down and starting to play: moving the sound to the soundbar, picking the resolution, pausing OneDrive, muting the notification that always lands mid-cutscene, and finding a keyboard to close the window that opened in front of the game.

Couchpit does all of that for you. When Big Picture opens or a game goes fullscreen, it applies your gaming setup. When you close the game, your PC goes back to how you left it.

Control Windows with your gamepad

Cursor, clicks, scrolling and keyboard shortcuts, all from the couch. Two layouts come ready: a classic one, and one that mirrors what the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally do in desktop mode. Both can be fully customized, even per game.

Hold Back and the buttons become shortcuts: typing, volume, media, screenshots, system controls. Press Back on its own and a cheat sheet with every shortcut appears on screen, so there is nothing to memorize.

There is also an action wheel. A button combo opens a quick menu over the game, and moving the stick to one side changes the volume, skips a track, takes a screenshot or switches apps. From there you can also send the sound somewhere else (the TV, the soundbar, your headphones) without leaving the game.

It works with Xbox, DualSense, DualShock 4, Switch Pro, Switch 2 Pro, Joy-Con, NSO classics, Steam Controller 2, 8BitDo, GameSir and most other pads on the market. Couchpit recognizes them through a community database that updates itself, so the list grows without waiting for a new version of the app. It makes no difference whether you connect by cable, Bluetooth or the pad's own wireless adapter.

And if Windows puts a window in front of your game, desktop control switches on by itself so you can close it from the couch.

Use your controller in Xbox-only games

Many games only recognize Xbox controllers. Couchpit makes your DualSense, DualShock, Switch Pro, Joy-Con, NSO classic, Steam Controller 2 or 8BitDo look like an Xbox controller to the game, so a game that could not see it starts reading it. That covers Game Pass, the pads Steam does not handle, and games that are not on Steam. Nothing to configure: connect the controller and play.

For older games with no gamepad support, you can assign buttons to keyboard keys. Couchpit remembers it for that game and applies it every time you open it.

The same PC for work and for play

While you play, Couchpit adjusts the PC for the session: the sound goes to the TV, notifications are muted, the screens switch to your gaming setup and, if you want, the power plan goes to maximum. OneDrive, Dropbox, Chrome, Windows Search and over a hundred other apps are paused or pushed to the background so they do not take resources from the game. Nothing gets closed.

When you quit, everything goes back to how it was. The next morning your desktop is exactly as you left it.

Your screens adapt to the game

You decide what each screen does while you play: the TV turns on for the game and off when you quit, the desk monitors stay off, and a screen changes resolution, scale or HDR only for the session. If a game messes up your monitor layout, Couchpit puts it back. And from the pad you can turn any screen on or off at any time.

No audio dropouts

On many TV and soundbar setups, the audio connection falls asleep between the menu and the game, and the first second of every cutscene is lost. Couchpit keeps it active so nothing gets cut.

FPS counter and timer

With a button combo you can show the FPS and temperature counter from RivaTuner or MSI Afterburner without pausing the game or switching windows. If you use ReShade, one press opens its menu and you can drive it with the pad.

There is also a countdown timer that, when it ends, puts the PC to sleep, shuts it down or runs whatever you choose. For example, leave Steam downloading overnight and schedule a shutdown in four hours. Or keep the screen on until 16:00 and let the PC go to sleep by itself afterwards. The tray icon shows the time left.

Fixes for Big Picture (optional)

If you want, Couchpit can open Big Picture when the PC starts. It also fixes its usual annoyances: borderless windows that spill off the screen, and Big Picture ending up behind a game that opens in front of it. And if you prefer to go further, it can hide the Windows desktop during the session and leave only Big Picture on screen.

Automate the rest with scripts

Couchpit can run your own scripts at every moment of a session: when it starts, when it ends, when the game changes. Pick the moment and the script, and that is it. For example, open OBS when the stream starts, send yourself a message when a game ends, or run a backup when you are done for the day.

What it is not

It is not a library manager like Playnite or LaunchBox. Steam is still your library.

It is not one of those "game boosters" that promise miracle FPS either. It has a Tweaks tab, but those are real Windows settings. Some you turn on once and forget, like Game Mode. The rest only last the session, like the power plan, and go back to normal when you quit.

And it does not touch your games or run anything inside them. It also has a safety switch that pauses desktop control and the controller bridge when it detects a known anti-cheat (Vanguard, BattlEye, EAC, FACEIT). It comes turned on by default.

Who it is for

• For anyone who plays on a PC from the couch. Your tower or laptop is connected to the TV, or you would like it to be, and you are tired of fighting Windows every time you sit down to play.

• For anyone new to gaming on PC. The PC gives you more power than ever, but the hassle of starting a game kills the urge. You miss pressing one button and already being in the game.

• For anyone who needs accessibility. If a keyboard is uncomfortable for you, the gamepad is not a gimmick, it is how you use Windows. Full cursor, clicks, dragging and shortcuts from any pad, configurable per game.

Install it and forget it

It installs from Steam. The first-run wizard asks a few questions and leaves sensible values for the rest. From then on, Couchpit stays in the system tray and the icon tells you what it is doing. You will most likely forget it exists until you want to change something. That is the idea.

Works on Windows 10 and 11. Fifteen languages, switchable without restarting. Buy it once and use it on all your PCs. No tracking and no subscription.