Questions

How to play Borderlands 2 on a Mac with a controller

Aspyr, which made the Mac version, lists three controllers for Borderlands 2: the PS4 DualShock 4, the PS3 DualShock 3, and the wired Xbox 360 controller. A PS5 DualSense and the Xbox One and Series controllers are not on its list. Of the three, the DualShock 4 is the one a current Mac still connects without extra work.

The list is from Aspyr's Borderlands 2 Mac FAQ, read on October 7, 2026. I haven't tested Borderlands 2 myself. If your pad does nothing in it, the fallback is the keyboard: InputConfig, the free mapper I make, sends keys and mouse moves from the pad, and Borderlands 2 plays fully on those.

On this page: 9 sections

1. Steps
2. See what Aspyr lists
3. If the pad does nothing
4. Send the game keys instead
5. Start from the Borderlands 3 layout
6. Tune the aim stick
7. Use one route, not both
8. The short version
9. Questions

Steps

1. Connect the controller and check it under System Settings, Game Controllers.
2. Quit the game, wake the controller, and open the game again.
3. On Steam, try the game's Steam Input override both ways.
4. If the game still ignores the pad, send keyboard and mouse controls from the pad with a mapper.

See what Aspyr lists

If you are choosing a pad for this game, a DualShock 4 is the one Aspyr names. How to connect a PS4 controller to a Mac has the steps, and the Xbox 360 controller on a Mac explains why that one stopped working.

InputConfig is completely 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.

If the pad does nothing

1. The Mac sees the pad. Open System Settings, Game Controllers, and press a button.
2. Relaunch with the pad awake. Quit the game, press a button on the controller, and open the game again.
3. Flip the Steam Input override. In the Steam library, right-click the game, open Properties, then Controller, and try the other setting. The Mac App Store version has no such layer.
4. Disconnect other pads while you test. Then you know which one the game is reading.

If nothing lights up there, Borderlands 2 has no chance of seeing the pad either. Controller works in Steam but not in the game has more on the Steam layer.

Send the game keys instead

Borderlands 2 is a keyboard and mouse shooter first, and a keyboard is never undetected. InputConfig reads the controller and sends keys and mouse moves, so the game sees a keyboard and you hold the pad. That works with any pad the Mac can read, a DualSense, an Xbox Series controller or a Switch Pro Controller included. The keyboard route does not care which controllers the game was written for.

Start from the Borderlands 3 layout

InputConfig has no ready layout for Borderlands 2, and it has one for Borderlands 3, which is the same kind of game. It is a good starting point:

• Sticks. The left stick sends W, A, S and D. The right stick moves the mouse.
• Triggers. The right trigger fires with the left mouse button, and the left trigger aims with the right.
• Face buttons. Jump, crouch, reload and use.
• Bumpers. The action skill and a grenade.
• D-pad. The four weapon slots.

I have not checked those keys against Borderlands 2, so compare each row with the game's own key bindings screen and change the ones that differ. Copy the Borderlands 3 layout, then correct it against the game's key list. Presets and folders has more on managing presets.

Tune the aim stick

Mouse aim sent from a stick needs two settings to feel right: a speed that lets you turn around quickly, and a curve that keeps small movements small. In InputConfig both are on the stick's row, with a deadzone for a stick that drifts. Set the look speed first, then the curve, then leave it alone for an hour before judging it. Deadzones and sensitivity has the settings, and gyro aim is there for pads with a motion sensor.

Use one route, not both

If Borderlands 2 does read your controller, a mapper sending keys at the same time makes every press arrive twice. So pick one route. In InputConfig, a preset tied to the game only runs while that game is in front. If Borderlands 2 already reads your pad, you don't need a mapper at all. Per-app switching sets that up.

The short version

• Listed pads. DualShock 4, DualShock 3 and the wired Xbox 360 controller, by Aspyr's FAQ.
• Not working. Game Controllers, relaunch, Steam Input override.
• Fallback. Keys and mouse sent from the pad, starting from the Borderlands 3 layout.

A DualShock 4 is the listed pad, and the keyboard route covers every other one.

Questions

Related

• Borderlands 3 on a Mac with a controller
• Play any Mac game with a controller
• Controller works in Steam but not in the game on a Mac
• How to connect a PS4 controller to a Mac or MacBook
• Deadzones and calibration
• How to play BioShock on a Mac with a controller

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 October 7, 2026