[Unity] Toggle Play Mode with Gamepad Buttons

PlaymodeGamepadToggle.cs

#if UNITY_EDITOR && ENABLE_INPUT_SYSTEM
using UnityEditor;
using UnityEngine.InputSystem;

namespace Project.Editor
{
    [InitializeOnLoad]
    public static class GamepadPlayModeController
    {
        private static bool _wasPressingBoth;

        static GamepadPlayModeController()
        {
            // Reliable polling in both Edit and Play mode
            InputSystem.onAfterUpdate += CheckGamepadToggle;
            
            // Prevent instant reverts on Domain Reload
            EditorApplication.playModeStateChanged += OnPlayModeStateChanged;
        }

        private static void OnPlayModeStateChanged(PlayModeStateChange state)
        {
            // Force button release after state change to prevent double-toggling
            if (state == PlayModeStateChange.EnteredPlayMode || state == PlayModeStateChange.EnteredEditMode)
            {
                _wasPressingBoth = true;
            }
        }

        private static void CheckGamepadToggle()
        {
            var gamepad = Gamepad.current;
            if (gamepad == null) return;

            bool isPressingBoth = gamepad.startButton.isPressed && gamepad.selectButton.isPressed;

            // Trigger only on initial press
            if (isPressingBoth && !_wasPressingBoth)
            {
                EditorApplication.isPlaying = !EditorApplication.isPlaying;
            }

            _wasPressingBoth = isPressingBoth;
        }
    }
}
#endif

Unity Editor Play Mode Toggle

Enters/Exits play mode with Gamepad.

Default trigger is pressing both Start and Select.

Prerequisites:

Input System installed and enabled.

Most of the time, I had to put gamepad aside so that I can press Ctrl+P or click the Play button.

Then I’d have to pick the gamepad up again to continue playtesting.

That is clearly user-unfriendly.