Controller works in Steam but not in the game on a Mac
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.
When Big Picture and the Steam overlay respond to the controller and the game ignores it, the fix on a Mac is nearly always one of three things: the game's own Steam Input setting, a game that has no controller support on the Mac, or a game launched outside Steam. Work through them in order. The first one fixes most cases.
On this page
Steps
- Change the game's Steam Input override in Properties, Controller.
- Check the game supports controllers on a Mac.
- Launch it from Steam.
- If it only reads keyboard and mouse, use a mapper.
1. Flip the game's Steam Input setting
- You: In the Steam library, right-click the game, open Properties, then Controller, and change the override. If it says Enable Steam Input, try Disable Steam Input, and the other way round.
- Steam: Either translates the pad for the game or hands it the raw controller. Some games want one, some the other, and the default guesses wrong often enough that this fixes most cases.
- Check: Relaunch the game after each change and press a button.
2. Check that the game supports controllers on a Mac
A game's store page may list controller support for Windows only. If the Mac version has none, the game only listens to the keyboard and mouse, whatever Steam does. Look for a controller setting in the game's own options too. Some games need it switched on.
3. Launch it from Steam
Steam Input only reaches games Steam launched. A game opened from the Finder or from another launcher does not get it. Non-Steam games can be added to Steam with Add a Non-Steam Game, but on a Mac that route is unreliable.
When the game only reads keyboard and mouse
Then the fix is outside Steam: a mapper sends the keys and mouse movement the game expects. InputConfig has ready layouts for 450+ games in its Smart Preset Maker, including Stardew Valley and Hollow Knight. Disable Steam Input for that game first, so two apps are not translating the same pad.
If Big Picture works and the game and desktop do not
This is a common report on recent macOS, not a setting you missed: Steam reads the pad while its own window is in front and loses it once a game or the desktop takes focus. An Apple Community thread from February 2026 shows it on macOS 26.3, and checking permissions and updating did not fix it for the poster. Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Grant the permission. Give Steam Input Monitoring, and Accessibility if it asks, in System Settings, Privacy & Security. Quit Steam fully and open it again.
- Let the game read the pad. Set the game's Steam Input override to Disabled, so the game reads the pad itself instead of through Steam.
- Map it below Steam. If the game has no controller support of its own on a Mac, map the pad to keys below Steam, where focus does not matter. InputConfig does this for free (I make it), and a preset can switch on by itself when the game comes to the front.
If the game runs in Steam inside CrossOver
Then it is Windows Steam in a Wine bottle, with its own settings, separate from Steam on the Mac, and the checks are different. A controller in CrossOver games has them.
The short version
- Flip Steam Input. Open Properties, Controller, choose the other setting, then relaunch.
- Launch from Steam. Steam Input reaches nothing it did not start.
- Map keyboard-only games. Do it with Steam Input turned off for them.
Most of these come down to the Steam Input setting for that one game, so flip it first.
Questions
Why does my PS5 controller work in Steam but not in the game?
Usually the game's Steam Input override. Try Enable, then Disable, in the game's Properties, Controller. If the game has no Mac controller support, use a mapper.
Should Steam Input be on or off?
It depends on the game. Try both. With a mapper such as InputConfig, turn it off for that game so the two do not fight.
What if the game runs in Steam inside CrossOver?
Then it is Windows Steam in a Wine bottle, with its own settings, separate from Steam on the Mac. The checks are different. See a controller in CrossOver games.
The game worked with my controller before I updated macOS. What changed?
Usually the game or the layer it runs in, not macOS. Update the game and Steam, try the Steam Input override both ways, and read the version notes on the after a macOS update page.
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