Horizon Zero Dawn on a Mac with a controller
The Horizon Zero Dawn 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: Steam lists the Complete Edition and the Remastered for Windows only. It streams to a Mac from a Windows PC you own, which normally hands a controller to the game's own scheme.
Yes, Horizon Zero Dawn plays on a Mac with a controller, as a stream from your own Windows PC. When the stream misses your pad, this layout plays the keyboard game from it. A bow game wants draw on one trigger and release on the other, and that is exactly the layout: hold the left to draw, pull the right to loose.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick moves and the right stick turns the camera. The left stick click is sprint, the right stick click slides and crouches (C).
- Bow and spear. The left trigger draws (held right click) and the right trigger looses and is the light melee (left click). The right bumper is the heavy melee.
- Act. Interact and quick save (E) are the bottom face button, dodge roll (Left Ctrl) the right, the tool or trap (F) the left, and the Focus scan (V) the top.
- Weapons. Hold the left bumper for the weapon wheel (Tab). The D-pad equips weapons 1 to 4.
- Menus. Back opens the map and Options pauses.
Draw on the left trigger and loose on the right, the way a bow wants to be held.
Tune it
- Concentration. It is Shift while aiming, and the sprint row already sends Shift, so hold the left stick click while drawing.
- Ammo swap. Hold the wheel bumper and flick the right stick.
- Aim speed. Add right stick rows at half the Speed as chords on the left trigger, so the look slows while you draw.
A half-speed look behind the draw trigger is what lands the shot on a weak point.
If the stream passes your controller
A stream that sees the pad gives the game Guerrilla's own scheme, which is better. Keep this preset off then, or every press lands twice. Draw the bow once with the preset off, and if Aloy draws, play on the game's scheme.
Horizon Zero Dawn controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Horizon Zero Dawn, 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 Horizon Zero Dawn.
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 Horizon Zero Dawn
When Horizon Zero Dawn 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.
- Press a button after the stream has started. A stream only picks up a controller that is paired with the Mac, and a browser shows a controller to a page only after a button press. Start Horizon Zero Dawn, then press any button. Streaming from your own PC has its own checks, in how to stream PC games to a Mac with a controller.
- Play it from keys. If Horizon Zero Dawn still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Horizon Zero Dawn 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 Horizon Zero Dawn 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 Horizon Zero Dawn 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.
Horizon Zero Dawn controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Horizon Zero Dawn'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 | Move left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Move right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Camera right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Camera left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Camera down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Camera up |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim bow (hold RMB) |
| Right trigger | Left click | Fire arrow / light melee (LMB) |
| X / Square | F | Use selected tool / trap (F) |
| A / Cross | E | Interact / quick save (E) |
| B / Circle | Ctrl (Left) | Dodge roll (L-Ctrl) |
| Y / Triangle | V | Toggle Focus scan (V) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (L-Shift) |
| R3 (right stick click) | C | Slide / toggle crouch (C) |
| LB / L1 | Tab | Weapon wheel (hold Tab) |
| D-pad up | 1 | Fast-equip weapon 1 |
| D-pad down | 2 | Fast-equip weapon 2 |
| D-pad left | 3 | Fast-equip weapon 3 |
| D-pad right | 4 | Fast-equip weapon 4 |
| RB / R1 | Shift (Left), Left click | Heavy melee (Shift+LMB) |
| Back / Share / Select | M | Map (M) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause (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 Horizon Zero Dawn run on a Mac?
Horizon Zero Dawn does not run natively on a Mac. Steam lists it for Windows only. Stream it from a Windows PC you own, which normally passes a controller. This layout covers a stream that does not see the pad.
Does Horizon Zero Dawn have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Horizon Zero Dawn, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Horizon Zero Dawn better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Horizon Zero Dawn, 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 Horizon Zero Dawn on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Horizon Zero Dawn still ignores it, activate the Horizon Zero Dawn layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Horizon Zero Dawn on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Horizon Zero Dawn runs on the other end, on a cloud service or your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other 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.
Updated