PUBG on a Mac with a controller
The PUBG: Battlegrounds 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 can stream to a Mac from a Windows PC you own, or from a cloud service that carries it. Steam lists only partial controller support for PUBG, so this layout sends the keyboard and mouse the game always reads, for a stream that does not see the pad or a pad the game handles poorly.
Yes, PUBG plays on a Mac with a controller, streamed from a Windows PC or a cloud service that carries it. Steam lists only partial controller support, so this layout sends the keyboard and mouse PUBG always reads. It puts looting within reach, because PUBG punishes slow looting more than slow aiming.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick walks on W, A, S and D. The right stick moves the mouse at speed 20 across and 14 up and down.
- Shoot. The right trigger fires and the left trigger aims down sights. Reload on the left face button (R).
- Move. Jump and mantle on the bottom button (Space), crouch and slide on the right (C), sprint on the left stick click (Shift).
- Loot. Use on the top button (F), the map and inventory on Back (Tab).
- Throw. Lethal grenade on the left bumper (G), tactical on the right (Q).
- Weapons. Primary on D-pad up (1), secondary on left (2), melee on down (V), ping and map on right (M). Menu on Start.
Every looting action sits under a thumb, so a crate takes seconds, not a trip to the keyboard.
Tune it
- Slower aim. Duplicate the four right-stick rows, set While also holding to the left trigger on the copies, and lower their speed. It is the biggest single improvement.
- Free look. PUBG's free look is a held Option key. Put it on a spare button as its own row.
- A buzz on the grenade. Turn on Vibrate in the lethal grenade row's Options.
The stream's latency is the real enemy here. A lower right-stick speed while aiming does more on a stream than any other change.
If the game sees the pad
A stream may pass your pad to PUBG, but with only partial controller support the game can handle it poorly, which is the case this layout is for.
- You: Leave the stream's controller passthrough as it is, and press Activate on this preset.
- InputConfig: Sends the keys and clicks in the table, which PUBG always reads.
- Check: If one press does two things, such as a jump that also crouches, the game is reading the pad too. Turn controller input off in the game or the stream, or press Deactivate.
Keep one path to the game: the pad or this layout, not both.
PUBG: Battlegrounds controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists partial controller support for PUBG: Battlegrounds: 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 PUBG: Battlegrounds
When PUBG: Battlegrounds 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 PUBG: Battlegrounds, 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 PUBG: Battlegrounds still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls PUBG: Battlegrounds 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 PUBG: Battlegrounds 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 PUBG: Battlegrounds 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.
PUBG: Battlegrounds controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is PUBG: Battlegrounds'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 | Strafe left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Strafe right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 20) | Look right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 20) | Look left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Look down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Look up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Fire |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim down sights |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump / mantle |
| B / Circle | C | Crouch / slide (C) |
| X / Square | R | Reload |
| Y / Triangle | F | Use (F) |
| LB / L1 | G | Lethal grenade (G) |
| RB / R1 | Q | Tactical (Q) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (hold) |
| D-pad up | 1 | Primary weapon (1) |
| D-pad left | 2 | Secondary weapon (2) |
| D-pad down | V | Melee (V) |
| D-pad right | M | Ping / map (M) |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | Map / inventory (Tab) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Menu (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 PUBG run on a Mac?
PUBG does not run natively on a Mac. It streams from a Windows PC or a cloud service that carries it. Steam lists only partial controller support, so this layout sends the keyboard and mouse the game always reads.
Does PUBG: Battlegrounds have controller support?
Partly. Steam lists partial controller support for PUBG: Battlegrounds: it plays on a controller, but some screens still expect a keyboard or mouse.
Is PUBG: Battlegrounds better with a controller or a keyboard?
A controller works for most of it. Steam lists partial controller support for PUBG: Battlegrounds, 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 PUBG: Battlegrounds on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and PUBG: Battlegrounds still ignores it, activate the PUBG: Battlegrounds layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play PUBG: Battlegrounds on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. PUBG: Battlegrounds 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