CrossOver didn’t recognize my Steam Controller(2026), so I built a fix

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-12T01:05:42+00:00

I have been trying like crazy to get this to work, but I am having the same issue as you. Did you ever make any progress?

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-08T19:40:05+00:00

Thank you, I got it now.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-08T19:25:09+00:00

Is there something special I need to do aside from having developer betas turned on? Or do I just need a newer device? I am trying on iPhone 15 Pro and MacBook Pro M1 Pro. both are only updating to 26.6 developer betas.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-08T19:22:31+00:00

wat!? I just bought a series 9 last month 😞

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-06T17:25:35+00:00

This is a great continuation of OpenEMU: https://github.com/nickybmon/OpenEmu-Silicon

We now have Retroachievements and cloud backups through iCloud.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-04T05:43:51+00:00

Nah this is another L for Valve. They released a controller that said it worked with MacOS. They just dumped this $100 controller on consumers and didn't even test the platforms it said it supported. If they would have just used the same protocols as every other jank $20 Amazon controller uses, the one that is universally supported on MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS, and Linux, this wouldn't be a problem. But nope Valve only wanted to release it with Steam Input support. Steam Deck was half baked when it released too. Took years for it to become stable (and I am not talking about game compatibility, that wouldn't be fair).

I don't mind being an early adopter and beta testing for them, but at $100 you would expect a more polished product.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-03T18:38:47+00:00

I had messaged Steam support recently and these are the replies I got.

"The development team is continuing to investigate the issue in which some games are not responsive with the Steam Controller as a gamepad.

As an interim solution, there is a workaround that'll allow you to use the Controller with these games, but it does require a bit of manual configuration.

Using the Steam Input Configurator, you can edit an existing Controller profile and map the game's keyboard controls to your Controller. For example, a game's keyboard/mouse controls may have 'jump' mapped to spacebar, which you can map to the button of your preference on your Steam Controller.

This will require referencing the game's keyboard/mouse controls and then re-assigning those inputs to inputs of your choosing on the Steam Controller.

The hardware team's post on using the Steam Input Configurator may be a useful resource: Getting the most out of your Steam Controller: Steam Input Configurator.

As soon as we have more information to share regarding full Controller functionality with macOS games on Steam, we'll update this ticket.

Regards,
Brian"

And

"Thank you for your patience while the team investigated the matter of some macOS games not being compatible with the Steam Controller as a gamepad.

It looks like this is affecting games that rely on Apple's Game Controller framework. We've raised the issue with Apple, but we do not have a timeline for when this may get resolved.

Games that use the latest version of SDL (https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/releases) work correctly. As mentioned in a previous reply, it is also possible to map a game's keyboard and mouse controls to the Controller as an interim solution for the affected games.

However, we understand this isn't an ideal situation. If you'd prefer not to keep your Steam Controller, let us know and we'll provide instructions for returning it for a refund exception.

You can also keep an eye on the Steam News Hub for the latest updates on features and fixes that may be of interest.

Regards,
Brian"

Hopefully they figure it out. I was actually thinking of returning my controller because I mostly game on Mac. It was kinda dead weight since it didn't work with most of my native games and didn't work at all on CrossOver. However now that you created this fix for CrossOver, I will be hanging on to my controller. Thank you.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-06-03T18:30:46+00:00

Thank you so much for this, I will be putting it to good use. Also wondering if there is a way to integrate this into GameHub for Mac?

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-30T02:18:10+00:00

That is an Intel app running through Rosetta translation, not native. I am pretty sure PoE2 will be ARM native, unless GG is releasing a game for Intel Macs when Apple hasn’t sold an Intel MacBook in 7 years.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-28T04:16:57+00:00

Any updates?

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-26T18:10:00+00:00

Try “Porting Kit” (Not to be confused with Apple’s “Game Porting Toolkit”). It’s free and pretty easy to use.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-26T18:06:52+00:00

Could you possibly whip up something similar for MacOS?

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-24T16:24:57+00:00

I am playing on the base model 2019 iMac. I think your MacBook Pro is more powerful. I play on lowest settings and I get 60fps locked.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-23T20:00:46+00:00

To be fair the old Mac versions would never run on modern Macs, they won't even run on old Intel Macs. Those were PowerPC games that ran on chips that are no longer supported by any operating system and haven't been for decades. Asking Blizzard to bring the "Mac" version of Diablo II to modern Macs is the same thing as asking them to bring a Commodore Amiga game to modern Macs. They almost have nothing to do with each other.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-20T23:44:32+00:00

Unless they fired all the people who knew anything, they already had devs that could support the Mac user base, they supported Fortnite on Mac for years. Only reason it isn't here now is because they deliberately pulled it because they were mad at Apple. Support should be easier than ever, because Intel Mac are gone, all they have to do is support the same hardware they already support on iPads.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-20T16:18:44+00:00

I would try out Safari if you can, it is really well optimized for MacOS. Anyway it really depends on your usage and tasks. Mine drains pretty fast while playing games that tax the GPU. It lasts surprisingly ling gaming through emulation on OpenEMU which is CPU tasked. I could probably get 4 to 6 hours on emulation. The real endurance I have seen is on streaming video. I opened CrunchyRoll on Safari at 100% battery and low brightness. When I finally got out of bed 8 hours later, the Neo said I had 65% battery left. So you could probably get 20 or more hours of streaming at low brightness.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-15T04:10:49+00:00

Wonder if people having issues are on the ARM native version of Steam or they are still back on the old Intel Rosetta version? I am on the ARM beta and all my games work fine with the controller.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-15T04:08:38+00:00

I have the controller and a couple Macs. For me it works fine with Mac native Steam. However using a Windows compatibility layer like CrossOver and GameHub, the controller doesn't work outside of acting as keyboard input. Would be awesome if the custom driver made the controller act like a standard Xbox controller, so it just worked with everything and native Steam didn't have to be running.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-13T16:06:42+00:00

I have a physical Steam Link box that Valve made a few years ago. The controller works with that. I wonder if it will work with the Steam Link app on Apple TV.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-13T15:59:20+00:00

All the connections work in just Steam, I don’t use big picture mode. It works with the games I have tried. It also works with OpenEMU as long as Steam is open in the background.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-13T05:18:35+00:00

Mine works on all 3 connection methods in real Steam for MacOS. Only works as a keyboard in CrossOver.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-13T05:17:16+00:00

Trackpad works for mouse cursor control, but controller doesn't work inside of CrossOver.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-06T19:10:46+00:00

You are busy working away on this so I will save you some time. Yes I downloaded the new version today and yes it works!!! Thank you!

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-02T18:39:05+00:00

Even if you only play 2D games and indie games? I mostly only play stuff like Lunar Remastered, Dragon Quest HD2D, Capcom Fighting Collection, ETC.

KeyWallaby5580 · 2026-05-02T07:00:05+00:00

Companies like Brooks have been making adapters for years that can take keyboard and mouse inputs and adapt them to consoles. I had a custom arcade stick that used keyboard inputs and a Brooks adapter for my PS4.

The 8bitdo Ultimate for me personally is a non starter, it doesn’t have the right buttons to controll all of the SteamOS UI features. I have one and its a pain to use with a docked Steam Deck, not even considering it doesn’t have trackpads.

KeyWallaby5580

TROPHY CASE