Cities: Skylines II on a Mac with a controller
The Cities: Skylines II layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: No Mac version. It runs through CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and it is heavy. The game lists full controller support on Steam, but a wrapper often does not pass the pad through.
Yes, Cities: Skylines II can be played on a Mac with a controller, through a wrapper, if your Mac is powerful enough to run it. The game has controller support of its own on PC, so try your pad first. If the wrapper does not pass it through, this layout plays the mouse and keyboard game from a pad: the camera on the left stick with rotate on the shoulders, the pointer on the right stick, and place and cancel on the two lower face buttons.
On this page: 9 sections
- The layout, control by control
- How the layout thinks
- Tune it
- If the wrapper passes your controller
- Cities: Skylines II controller support: controller or keyboard
- If your controller is not working in Cities: Skylines II
- Get it in two clicks
- Cities: Skylines II controls: every button and the key it sends
- Questions
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Camera. The left stick moves the camera. The bumpers rotate it (Q and E), the triggers zoom (F and R), and the stick clicks tilt it down and up (G and T).
- Pointer. The right stick moves the pointer.
- Build. The bottom face button places and confirms (left click), and the right rotates a building or cancels (right click). The left face button is the Bulldoze tool (B), and the top backs out of a menu (Escape).
- Time. D-pad left, up and right set speeds 1 to 3, and Options plays or pauses (Space).
- Saves. D-pad down quicksaves (F5) and Back quickloads (F9).
Quicksave is one press on the D-pad, which matters in a game that is heavy on a Mac.
Tune it
- A slow pointer. Road nodes want it. Add right stick rows at half the Speed as chords on a back paddle or the touchpad press.
- Info views. Put them on chords.
A half-speed pointer is what makes a road node land where you meant.
If the wrapper passes your controller
If the game reads the pad on its own, use its scheme and keep this preset off, or every press lands twice. Using a controller with CrossOver games covers the wrapper side. Move the camera once with the preset off, and if it moves, the wrapper passed your pad.
Cities: Skylines II controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Cities: Skylines II, so the game was made to be played on a controller, menus included. A keyboard and mouse work as well, and the choice is yours. On a Mac, use the game's own controller support first when it sees your pad; this layout is for a pad it does not see, or for buttons it will not let you move. Full support listed means the controller is a first-class way to play Cities: Skylines II.
From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.
If your controller is not working in Cities: Skylines II
When Cities: Skylines II does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Expect less inside a wrapper. In CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, Wine passes a controller to Cities: Skylines II only some of the time, and the keyboard and mouse get through every time. Using a controller with CrossOver games has the checks.
- Play it from keys. If Cities: Skylines II still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Cities: Skylines II already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not Cities: Skylines II ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Cities: Skylines II and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
Cities: Skylines II controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Cities: Skylines II's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | A | Left stick left moves the camera west (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Left stick right moves the camera east (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Left stick up moves the camera forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Left stick down moves the camera back (S) |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 14) | Right stick moves the pointer left |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 14) | Right stick moves the pointer right |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Right stick moves the pointer up |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Right stick moves the pointer down |
| A / Cross | Left click | A places or confirms (left click) |
| B / Circle | Right click | B rotates building or cancels (right click) |
| X / Square | B | X selects the Bulldoze tool (B) |
| Y / Triangle | Escape | Y backs out of the current menu (Esc) |
| LB / L1 | Q | LB rotates the camera left (Q) |
| RB / R1 | E | RB rotates the camera right (E) |
| Left trigger | F | Left trigger zooms the camera out (F) |
| Right trigger | R | Right trigger zooms the camera in (R) |
| L3 (left stick click) | G | L3 tilts the camera down (G) |
| R3 (right stick click) | T | R3 tilts the camera up (T) |
| D-pad left | 1 | D-pad left sets normal speed (1) |
| D-pad up | 2 | D-pad up sets fast speed (2) |
| D-pad right | 3 | D-pad right sets fastest speed (3) |
| D-pad down | F5 | D-pad down quicksaves (F5) |
| Back / Share / Select | F9 | Back quickloads (F9) |
| Start / Options | Space | Start plays or pauses the simulation (Space) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does Cities: Skylines II run on a Mac?
Cities: Skylines II does not run natively on a Mac. CrossOver and the Game Porting Toolkit run it. This layout is for wrappers that do not pass the controller.
Does Cities: Skylines II have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Cities: Skylines II, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Cities: Skylines II better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Cities: Skylines II, so it was made to be played on a controller, and a keyboard and mouse work as well.
Why is my controller not working in Cities: Skylines II on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Cities: Skylines II still ignores it, activate the Cities: Skylines II layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Cities: Skylines II on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Cities: Skylines II has no Mac version, so it runs through a wrapper such as CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and how well depends on the Mac's chip and memory. I have not tested it on each Mac.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
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