Crusader Kings III on a Mac with a controller
The Crusader Kings III 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: Native on macOS through Steam, mouse and keyboard only on Mac. The console edition has its own interface.
Crusader Kings III has no controller support on a Mac, and this layout gives it one through the mouse and keyboard. It is a game of reading tooltips and making terrible decisions about your children, and it is paused most of the time, which makes it one of the best strategy games to play from a pad: a cursor, a click, speed on the D-pad, and a pause button. The console edition proved the game works this way.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Point and scroll. The left stick moves the cursor, the right stick scrolls the map with the arrow keys, and the triggers zoom.
- Click. The right bumper selects (left click). The left bumper is right click, for context actions and to deselect.
- Time. D-pad right and left raise and lower the game speed. The bottom face button and Options both pause (Space).
- Characters. The top face button finds a character (C), and the left one opens your own (F1).
- Close things. Back and the left stick click both send Escape, so a stack of windows closes from either hand.
Pause sits on two buttons, so whichever thumb is free can stop time.
Tune it
- A slow cursor. The council screen is dense. Add left stick rows at half the Speed as chords on the right stick click, which is free.
- Realm, military and intrigue. Put the screen keys on chords, so each is one held button and a press away.
The slow cursor chord is the one that saves your eyes on the dense screens.
The short version
- Activate it. The Mac version reads no controller, so there is nothing to double.
- Pause, read, decide. The D-pad sets the speed when you are ready to let a year run.
A paused game with a cursor is a game a pad plays well.
Crusader Kings III controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists no controller support for Crusader Kings III, so it was made for a keyboard and mouse, and that is how it expects to be played. A controller still works: this layout sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the pad, so to the game you are simply typing and pointing. No controller support listed means the layout does the work, not the game.
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 Crusader Kings III
When Crusader Kings III 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.
- Check the Steam Input setting for Crusader Kings III. In Steam, open Crusader Kings III, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Stop looking for a setting. Crusader Kings III reads the keyboard and mouse here, so no option makes it see a pad. Activate this layout, and the controller sends the keys and mouse movement Crusader Kings III already reads. The layout works without Crusader Kings III ever seeing 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 Crusader Kings III 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.
Crusader Kings III controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Crusader Kings III'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 | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Left stick left: move cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Left stick right: move cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 18) | Left stick up: move cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 18) | Left stick down: move cursor down |
| Right stick left | Left | Right stick left: scroll map left (arrow Left) |
| Right stick right | Right | Right stick right: scroll map right (arrow Right) |
| Right stick up | Up | Right stick up: scroll map up (arrow Up) |
| Right stick down | Down | Right stick down: scroll map down (arrow Down) |
| RB / R1 | Left click | RB: left click (select) |
| LB / L1 | Right click | LB: right click (context / deselect) |
| Right trigger | Scroll up | Right trigger: zoom in (scroll up) |
| Left trigger | Scroll down | Left trigger: zoom out (scroll down) |
| A / Cross | Space | A: pause / unpause (Space) |
| X / Square | F1 | X: open player character window (F1) |
| Y / Triangle | C | Y: find / search character (C) |
| D-pad right | = | D-pad right: increase game speed (Equals/+) |
| D-pad left | - | D-pad left: decrease game speed (Minus/-) |
| Back / Share / Select | Escape | Back: close window / menu (Esc) |
| Start / Options | Space | Start: pause / unpause (Space) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Escape | L3: close top window (Esc) |
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 Crusader Kings III on Mac support controllers?
No. This layout gives it a pad through the mouse and keyboard, with speed on the D-pad.
Does Crusader Kings III have controller support?
Not by itself. Steam lists no controller support for Crusader Kings III. A controller still works through a layout like this one, which sends the game's keys.
Is Crusader Kings III better with a controller or a keyboard?
It was made for a keyboard and mouse: Steam lists no controller support for Crusader Kings III. A controller still works through this layout, which sends the game's own keys and mouse movement.
Why is my controller not working in Crusader Kings III on a Mac?
Crusader Kings III reads the keyboard and mouse on this route, so no setting makes it see a controller. Check the Mac sees the pad with the gamepad tester, then activate the Crusader Kings III layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the controller.
Can I play Crusader Kings III on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Crusader Kings III has a native Mac version, and its minimum requirements are listed on its Steam store page, so check your Mac against that list. I have not tested it on each Mac. The controller layout itself works the same on any Mac that runs InputConfig.
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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