Grim Dawn on a Mac with a controller
The Grim 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. GeForce NOW lists it, and it can stream from a Windows PC you own. Both normally pass a controller to the game's own gamepad mode.
Yes, Grim Dawn plays on a Mac with a controller, through GeForce NOW or a stream from a Windows PC. It has a gamepad mode of its own, which a stream usually passes through. This layout is for the stream that does not see the pad, and for players who want the mouse-style ARPG back: a cursor on the stick and attacks on the triggers.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Cursor. The left stick moves the cursor at speed 16.
- Click. The right trigger moves and uses the core skill (left click), the left trigger the secondary skill (right click).
- Face buttons. Evade on the bottom (Space), potion on the right (Q), skill 3 on the left (E), skill 4 on the top (R).
- Skill slots. Slots 1 to 4 on the D-pad.
- Panels. Inventory on the left bumper (I), character on the right (C), the map on Back (Tab), menu on Start (Escape).
It was never a fast game, so a stream carries it fine. A cursor on the stick plays Grim Dawn the way the mouse does.
Tune it
- More skills. Add slots 5 to 8 as chord rows on the face buttons.
- Health and energy potions. Set two face buttons' outputs to the game's health and energy potion keys.
- A slow pointer for the constellation map. Duplicate the four left-stick rows, set While also holding to a spare button on the copies, and give them half the speed.
The constellation map needs the slow pointer more than anything else.
If the game sees the pad
Grim Dawn has a gamepad mode of its own, so use it with this preset off when the stream passes your pad.
Grim Dawn controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Grim 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.
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 Grim Dawn
When Grim Dawn does not react to your controller on a Mac, check these in order:
- 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 Grim 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 Grim Dawn still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Grim 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 Grim Dawn ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Grim 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.
Grim Dawn controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Grim 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 | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Cursor down |
| Right trigger | Left click | Move / core skill (left click) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Secondary skill (right click) |
| A / Cross | Space | Evade |
| B / Circle | Q | Potion (Q) |
| X / Square | E | Skill 3 (E) |
| Y / Triangle | R | Skill 4 (R) |
| D-pad up | 1 | Skill slot 1 |
| D-pad left | 2 | Skill slot 2 |
| D-pad right | 3 | Skill slot 3 |
| D-pad down | 4 | Skill slot 4 |
| LB / L1 | I | Inventory (I) |
| RB / R1 | C | Character (C) |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | Map (Tab) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Menu (Esc) |
Names follow the editor's Xbox / PlayStation pair, and a Switch pad fires by position.
Questions
Does Grim Dawn run on a Mac?
Grim Dawn does not run natively on a Mac. GeForce NOW lists it, and it streams from a Windows PC you own.
Does Grim Dawn have controller support?
Yes, Steam lists full controller support. On a Mac the game is a stream, and when the stream passes your pad, use the game's own mode. This layout is for when it does not, or for playing it cursor-style from a pad.
Can I play Grim Dawn on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Grim 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.
Does Grim Dawn run in CrossOver on a Mac?
I have not tested Grim Dawn in CrossOver. CodeWeavers keeps a compatibility list where players report how each Windows game runs. If it runs and the controller is not seen, this layout plays it from the keys and mouse.
Related
Updated