Star Citizen
Xbox and PS5 controllers for Star Citizen
Fly, drive and walk the ’verse on a gamepad. Grab our ready-to-load layout for the Xbox Wireless Controller or the PS5 DualSense, or build your own for Star Citizen 4.10 from a fill-in form. You get the exact install folder, the console command that loads it, and how to get a DualSense working in the game.
The kit holds our ready-to-load profile, a control map and layout forms for each controller, and a setup guide. Built for Star Citizen 4.10 LIVE (November 2026) from the game’s own default gamepad controls. Free, no account needed.
The control maps
Every button, on the controller
Each controller gets its own map: a setup page, the flight layout and the on-foot layout, with orange tags on the controller matching the list beside it. The layout forms have an editable dropdown for every button. Click any page to see it full size.
Flight map
Every button in a ship, on its own and with LB held. Sticks fly the ship.
On-foot map
Walking, weapons, gadgets and menus, on their own and with L1 held.
Layout form
Four columns for every button: flight, flight with LB held, on foot, on foot with LB held.
Setup guide
The steps below on one printable page.
Controller setup
Setting up a gamepad for Star Citizen
Do this once. It applies whether you use our profile or one you build below.
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Xbox: plug in or pair
Use a USB-C cable, the Xbox Wireless Adapter, or Bluetooth (Series X|S, Elite Series 2 and Xbox One model 1708 have it). For Bluetooth, turn the controller on, hold the Pair button on the top edge for about 3 seconds, then go to Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Add device in Windows. Update the firmware with the Xbox Accessories app. Windows sees it as an Xbox controller, which is exactly what Star Citizen wants.
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PS5: pair it, then make it look like an Xbox controller
Use a USB-C cable or Bluetooth: with the controller off, hold Create + PS for about 3 seconds until the light bar flashes, then add it in Settings › Bluetooth & devices; Windows calls it “Wireless Controller”. Star Citizen reads Xbox-style (XInput) gamepads, so give the DualSense an Xbox face: add Star Citizen to Steam as a non-Steam game and turn on PlayStation controller support in Steam Input, or run DS4Windows. Use one of them, not both.
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Copy the profile into the game
Put your XML (ours is
Roberts Space Industries/StarCitizen/LIVE/user/client/0/controls/mappingslayout_AbsoluteGaming_Gamepad.xml, the same file for both controllers; yours is whatever the generator named it) in your mappings folder: -
Load the profile
Start the game, open the console with
pp_rebindkeys layout_AbsoluteGaming_Gamepad~and run this, with no.xmlon the end (the generator shows the command for your own file):Or use Options › Keybindings › Advanced Controls Customization › Control Profiles and load it there.
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Check it and tune the sticks
Move both sticks in the hangar or in a ship. If the sticks feel twitchy or creep at rest, adjust the gamepad sensitivity and deadzones in Options › Keybindings. Keyboard and mouse keep working alongside the controller, which helps for chat and a few menus.
XML generator
Build your own controller profile
Fill in the form with what you want on each button, drop it here, and get a Star Citizen profile made for you. Your PDF is read right here in your browser; it is never uploaded to us and nothing is kept.
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Pick a starting form
Start from scratch with the blank form, or start from our layout with the Absolute Gaming map, where every box is already filled in and you only change what you don’t like. Both have all 62 boxes: 16 buttons in flight and on foot, with and without LB (L1) held. The Xbox and PS5 forms share the same boxes, so either works here.
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Fill it in
Open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, or in Chrome or Edge. Page 2 shows the controller with every button tagged. Click a box and pick an action from the list, or just type your best guess (“flares”, “flashlight”, “star map”); the generator works out what you meant and lets you check it. Leave a box empty to keep that control unbound.
Not sure what something is called? In the game, Options › Keybindings lists every action. The community Binding Database lists every action with CIG’s default bindings.
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Save the PDF
Use Save (Ctrl+S), not Print, so your choices stay in the file.
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Drop it below and check the matches
Every box you filled appears in a list. Exact matches are ready. Check this means we matched what you typed to the closest game action, so make sure it’s right. Pick one means we couldn’t tell, so choose from the list. You can change any row. If you put the same action on two controls, we tell you and keep the first.
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Name it, tell us where the game lives, download
Give your profile a name and enter your RSI Launcher library folder (in the launcher’s settings; the default is
C:\Program Files\Roberts Space Industries). We show the exact folder the file goes in and the command that loads it. -
Install and load it
Put the downloaded XML in the folder shown, start the game, open the console with
~, and run the command shown. If you haven’t yet, do steps 1 to 4 of the controller setup above.
Check your bindings
| Control | You wrote | Game action |
|---|
Name and install location
~)
Profiles set the gamepad only. Keyboard, mouse and any joysticks keep their own bindings. A PS5 DualSense needs Steam Input or DS4Windows (setup step 2).
Good to know
Things that catch gamepad pilots out
- LB (L1) does almost nothing on its own? That is on purpose. Star Citizen’s gamepad layout uses it as a modifier: hold it and the other buttons do a second job. The maps show both sets.
- DualSense buttons do nothing in game? The game isn’t seeing it as an Xbox controller. Start Star Citizen through Steam with PlayStation controller support on, or run DS4Windows, and close the other one if both are running.
- Controller stopped responding after it disconnected? Reconnect it, then restart the game. Star Citizen may not pick a gamepad back up mid-session.
- Want yaw on the left stick and roll on the right, or the other way round? Click the right stick (R3) in a ship to swap them.
- Same button, two jobs? A button can do one thing in flight and another on foot. Two actions on one button in the same column will clash, and the generator warns you.
- Capped at combat speed? SCM mode caps top speed by design. D-pad up switches between SCM and NAV in our layout.
Stuck, or found a better layout? Come and talk about it on the Absolute Gaming Discord, or email support@absolutegaming.store.
More free Star Citizen controller kits
Same setup for flight sticks and yokes: a ready profile, an editable PDF control map and an XML generator for each.