New World: Aeternum on a Mac with a controller
The New World: Aeternum 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. GeForce NOW carries the Steam release (checked September 2026), and it also streams from a Windows PC you own. Either one normally passes a controller to the gamepad scheme Aeternum added. This layout is for streams that do not see the pad.
Yes, New World: Aeternum plays on a Mac with a controller, through GeForce NOW or a stream from a Windows PC. Aeternum added gamepad support of its own, so use that when the stream passes your pad. This layout is the fallback, built on the shared MMO layout, so plan on moving a few keys. Tune it has the list.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and camera. The left stick walks on W, A, S and D. The right stick moves the mouse at speed 16.
- Fight. The right trigger sends a left click, which attacks. The left trigger sends a right click, which blocks or aims.
- Number keys. The face buttons send 1 to 4 (bottom 1, left 2, top 3, right 4), the right bumper 5, the left bumper 6, and D-pad up 0. The row notes call them hotbar slots, from the MMO layout this one shares.
- Jump and run. Jump on the left stick click (Space). The right stick click sends a middle click and D-pad down sends R. Both are labeled auto-run.
- Windows. D-pad left sends I, D-pad right M for the map, Back C, and Start Escape.
The rows come from a shared MMO layout, so check each against Aeternum's keybinds before a fight.
Tune it
- Weapon abilities. Aeternum puts the three weapon abilities on Q, R and F. Give three buttons those keys in their output field, and check the game's keybinds menu if your binds differ.
- Interact, dodge and inventory. The game uses E to interact, Shift to dodge and Tab for the inventory. Move them onto buttons you reach easily.
- Number keys. In New World 1 and 2 switch weapons, so the bottom and left face buttons swap weapons as they stand. Keep them, or move them to the D-pad.
Ten minutes in the keybinds menu turns this into a New World layout.
If the game sees the pad
Aeternum's own gamepad scheme is the better way to play when the stream passes your controller. Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Try the stream on its own. Leave the preset off and push the left stick. If your character moves, use the game's scheme.
- Activate the layout. If nothing moves, press Activate, and the pad sends the keys and clicks above.
- Turn one off if presses double. If an attack also swaps weapons, the game reads the pad and the preset at once. Press Deactivate.
One of the two drives the game, never both.
New World: Aeternum controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists partial controller support for New World: Aeternum: it plays on a controller, but some parts, such as a launcher, text entry or a menu, still expect a keyboard or a mouse. This layout sends keys and mouse movement from the pad, which can cover the parts the game's own support leaves out. With partial support, a layout fills the gaps the game leaves.
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 New World: Aeternum
When New World: Aeternum 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 New World: Aeternum, 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 New World: Aeternum still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls New World: Aeternum 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 New World: Aeternum 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 New World: Aeternum 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.
New World: Aeternum controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is New World: Aeternum'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 with A |
| Left stick right | D | Left stick right moves with D |
| Left stick up | W | Left stick up moves forward with W |
| Left stick down | S | Left stick down moves back with S |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Right stick X drags the camera left |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Right stick X drags the camera right |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Right stick Y drags the camera up |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Right stick Y drags the camera down |
| A / Cross | 1 | A uses hotbar slot 1, mapped to the 1 key |
| X / Square | 2 | X uses hotbar slot 2, mapped to the 2 key |
| Y / Triangle | 3 | Y uses hotbar slot 3, mapped to the 3 key |
| B / Circle | 4 | B uses hotbar slot 4, mapped to the 4 key |
| RB / R1 | 5 | RB uses hotbar slot 5, mapped to the 5 key |
| LB / L1 | 6 | LB uses hotbar slot 6, mapped to the 6 key |
| Right trigger | Left click | Right trigger selects a target, left click |
| Left trigger | Right click | Left trigger context acts on the target, right click |
| L3 (left stick click) | Space | L3 jumps, mapped to Space |
| R3 (right stick click) | Middle click | R3 sets auto-run, mapped to the mouse wheel click |
| D-pad up | 0 | D-pad up uses hotbar slot 10, mapped to the 0 key |
| D-pad down | R | D-pad down toggles auto-run, mapped to R |
| D-pad left | I | D-pad left opens inventory, mapped to I |
| D-pad right | M | D-pad right opens the map, mapped to M |
| Start / Options | Escape | Start opens the main menu via Escape |
| Back / Share / Select | C | Back opens the character menu, mapped to C |
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 New World run on a Mac?
New World does not run natively on a Mac. GeForce NOW carries the Steam release, and it also streams from a Windows PC you own. This layout covers a stream that does not see the pad.
Does New World: Aeternum have controller support?
Partly. Steam lists partial controller support for New World: Aeternum: it plays on a controller, but some screens still expect a keyboard or mouse.
Is New World: Aeternum better with a controller or a keyboard?
A controller works for most of it. Steam lists partial controller support for New World: Aeternum, so some screens still expect a keyboard or a mouse, and a layout like this one can put those on the pad.
Why is my controller not working in New World: Aeternum on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and New World: Aeternum still ignores it, activate the New World: Aeternum layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play New World: Aeternum on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. New World: Aeternum 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.
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