HOTAS & Joysticks
PS5 HOTAS: What Actually Works Right Now
The short answer
The Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS 4 is currently the only flight stick with confirmed, officially licensed compatibility for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5, and it also works on PS4 and PC. More PlayStation-licensed sticks are reportedly in development.
Last updated September 2026
| Confirmed PS5 stick | Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS 4 — officially licensed by Sony, works across PS5, PS4 and PC |
|---|---|
| Controls | 5 axes, 14 buttons, 1 rapid-fire trigger, 1 hat switch, per Thrustmaster's spec sheet |
| Confirmed HOTAS-supporting PS5 titles | Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Ace Combat 7, War Thunder, Star Wars Squadrons |
| Not HOTAS-compatible | Titles without a stick-and-throttle flight model built in, such as No Man's Sky, even though they involve flight — check each game's control settings menu before assuming support |
| Xbox sticks that won't work on PS5 | Any stick licensed only for Xbox (like the T.Flight HOTAS One Xbox edition or Turtle Beach's VelocityOne HOTAS) will not connect to PS5 — console licensing doesn't cross over |
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What's covered8
PS5 HOTAS options are narrower than PC ones, because a flight stick has to be specifically licensed for PlayStation to work on the console at all. Right now, the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS 4 is the only stick with confirmed, officially licensed compatibility for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5, and it doubles as a PS4 and PC stick too.
Why PC HOTAS hardware doesn't just work on PS5
Console flight-stick compatibility runs through licensing, not general USB support. Most PC-only sticks — Thrustmaster's T.16000M FCS and HOTAS Warthog among them — will not be recognized by a PS5 at all, the same way most classic PC HOTAS hardware won't connect to an Xbox. This is a hardware and licensing requirement built into the console, not a driver or software gap you can work around.
What's actually confirmed to work
The Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS 4 is the confirmed pick: officially licensed by Sony, with 5 axes, 14 buttons, a rapid-fire trigger, and a hat switch, per Thrustmaster's own spec sheet. It's plug-and-play across PS5, PS4 and PC, and it's specifically named as the officially licensed stick for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5.
Games that actually support it
Owning a licensed stick isn't enough on its own — the game also has to support HOTAS input. Confirmed titles include Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Ace Combat 7, War Thunder, and Star Wars Squadrons. Some flight-adjacent games skip stick support entirely: No Man's Sky, for example, doesn't build its flight model around stick-and-throttle input, so a HOTAS won't do anything useful there even though the console recognizes the hardware. Always check a specific game's control settings before buying with just one title in mind.
More sticks are reportedly coming
Microsoft Flight Simulator's development team has said more PlayStation-licensed flight sticks are in development, though without confirmed release timing as of this writing. If you're buying today for a game that already supports the HOTAS 4, there's little reason to wait. If you're holding out for a specific feature — more buttons, metal construction, dual throttle levers — that isn't in the current PS5 lineup, it's worth checking back before buying.
Setting it up on PS5
Plug the T.Flight HOTAS 4 into a free USB port and the PS5 recognizes it automatically, the same as any wired accessory — no pairing step or companion app needed. Button and axis mapping happens inside each game's own control-settings menu rather than in separate manufacturer software, which is different from the PC side, where Thrustmaster's T.A.R.G.E.T. software handles mapping outside the game itself. After plugging in for the first time, run through every axis and button in the game's control-test screen if it has one, checking that full stick deflection registers as full input and that each button fires the action you expect, before you rely on the setup in a real session.
HOTAS 4 vs. a standard DualSense controller
A standard DualSense controller can fly most PS5 flight titles too, using its analog sticks for pitch/roll and triggers for throttle. The HOTAS 4 earns its place over the standard pad by giving pitch, roll, yaw and throttle their own dedicated physical inputs instead of sharing two analog sticks across all of them, plus enough extra buttons (14 in total) to bind weapons, view controls or system toggles without a menu dive. If you're only flying casually or trying a flight title for the first time, the DualSense you already own is a reasonable way to start; the HOTAS 4 is worth the extra cost once you know flight sims are a genre you'll keep coming back to.
Who this page is for
Built for someone deciding whether a PS5-compatible HOTAS exists and which one to buy, not a deep spec breakdown of one product. For the full spec sheet on the T.Flight HOTAS 4, see the dedicated page linked below.
Compare options
Ready to compare actual hardware against what's above? See our PS5 flight-controller roundup for our current picks and pricing.
FAQ
Can any PC HOTAS just plug into a PS5?
No. A flight stick has to be specifically licensed for PlayStation to be recognized on a PS5, the same way Xbox requires its own separate licensing. Most PC-only sticks, including Thrustmaster's T.16000M FCS and HOTAS Warthog, will not connect to a PS5 at all — this is a hardware and licensing requirement, not something a driver update fixes.
Will the T.Flight HOTAS 4 work with any PS5 flight game?
Only games that specifically add HOTAS/stick-and-throttle input support. It's confirmed for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Ace Combat 7, War Thunder and Star Wars Squadrons. Some flight-adjacent PS5 games, including No Man's Sky, don't support stick input at all because their flight model isn't built around it — check the specific game's control options before buying with one title in mind.
Are more PS5-licensed HOTAS sticks coming?
Reportedly yes — Microsoft Flight Simulator's own development team has said additional PlayStation-licensed controllers are in development, though no specific release dates were confirmed at the time of that reporting. For now, the T.Flight HOTAS 4 remains the confirmed working option.