diff --git a/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config.go b/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config.go
index 8b76edbb..52a336ba 100644
--- a/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config.go
@@ -34,36 +34,36 @@ func (c *Config) AddRuntime(name string, path string, setAsDefault bool) error {
 
 	runtimeNamesForConfig := engine.GetLowLevelRuntimes(c)
 	for _, r := range runtimeNamesForConfig {
-		options := config.GetSubtreeByPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", r})
+		options := config.GetSubtreeByPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", r})
 		if options == nil {
 			continue
 		}
 		c.Logger.Debugf("using options from runtime %v: %v", r, options)
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name}, options.Copy())
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name}, options.Copy())
 		break
 	}
 
-	if config.GetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name}) == nil {
+	if config.GetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name}) == nil {
 		c.Logger.Warningf("could not infer options from runtimes %v; using defaults", runtimeNamesForConfig)
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "runtime_type"}, c.RuntimeType)
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "runtime_root"}, "")
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "runtime_engine"}, "")
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "privileged_without_host_devices"}, false)
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "runtime_type"}, c.RuntimeType)
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "runtime_root"}, "")
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "runtime_engine"}, "")
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "privileged_without_host_devices"}, false)
 	}
 
 	if len(c.ContainerAnnotations) > 0 {
-		annotations, err := c.getRuntimeAnnotations([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "container_annotations"})
+		annotations, err := c.getRuntimeAnnotations([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "container_annotations"})
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		annotations = append(c.ContainerAnnotations, annotations...)
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "container_annotations"}, annotations)
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "container_annotations"}, annotations)
 	}
 
-	config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name, "options", "BinaryName"}, path)
+	config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name, "options", "BinaryName"}, path)
 
 	if setAsDefault {
-		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "default_runtime_name"}, name)
+		config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "default_runtime_name"}, name)
 	}
 
 	*c.Tree = config
@@ -99,13 +99,13 @@ func (c *Config) getRuntimeAnnotations(path []string) ([]string, error) {
 // Set sets the specified containerd option.
 func (c *Config) Set(key string, value interface{}) {
 	config := *c.Tree
-	config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", key}, value)
+	config.SetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, key}, value)
 	*c.Tree = config
 }
 
 // DefaultRuntime returns the default runtime for the cri-o config
 func (c Config) DefaultRuntime() string {
-	if runtime, ok := c.GetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "default_runtime_name"}).(string); ok {
+	if runtime, ok := c.GetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "default_runtime_name"}).(string); ok {
 		return runtime
 	}
 	return ""
@@ -119,14 +119,14 @@ func (c *Config) RemoveRuntime(name string) error {
 
 	config := *c.Tree
 
-	config.DeletePath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name})
-	if runtime, ok := config.GetPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "default_runtime_name"}).(string); ok {
+	config.DeletePath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name})
+	if runtime, ok := config.GetPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "default_runtime_name"}).(string); ok {
 		if runtime == name {
-			config.DeletePath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "default_runtime_name"})
+			config.DeletePath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "default_runtime_name"})
 		}
 	}
 
-	runtimePath := []string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name}
+	runtimePath := []string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name}
 	for i := 0; i < len(runtimePath); i++ {
 		if runtimes, ok := config.GetPath(runtimePath[:len(runtimePath)-i]).(*toml.Tree); ok {
 			if len(runtimes.Keys()) == 0 {
diff --git a/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config_v2_test.go b/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config_v2_test.go
index 80c2675f..836d2b1d 100644
--- a/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config_v2_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/engine/containerd/config_v2_test.go
@@ -203,15 +203,15 @@ func TestAddRuntime(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedConfig: `
 			version = 3
 			[plugins]
-			[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri"]
-				[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd]
-				[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes]
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.test]
+			[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime"]
+				[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd]
+				[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.test]
 					privileged_without_host_devices = false
 					runtime_engine = ""
 					runtime_root = ""
 					runtime_type = "io.containerd.runc.v2"
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.test.options]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.test.options]
 						BinaryName = "/usr/bin/test"
 			`,
 			expectedError: nil,
@@ -221,38 +221,38 @@ func TestAddRuntime(t *testing.T) {
 			config: `
 			version = 3
 			[plugins]
-			[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri"]
-				[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd]
-				[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes]
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc]
+			[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime"]
+				[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd]
+				[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.runc]
 					privileged_without_host_devices = true
 					runtime_engine = "engine"
 					runtime_root = "root"
 					runtime_type = "type"
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc.options]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.runc.options]
 						BinaryName = "/usr/bin/runc"
 						SystemdCgroup = true
 			`,
 			expectedConfig: `
 			version = 3
 			[plugins]
-			[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri"]
-				[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd]
-				[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes]
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc]
+			[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime"]
+				[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd]
+				[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.runc]
 					privileged_without_host_devices = true
 					runtime_engine = "engine"
 					runtime_root = "root"
 					runtime_type = "type"
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc.options]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.runc.options]
 						BinaryName = "/usr/bin/runc"
 						SystemdCgroup = true
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.test]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.test]
 					privileged_without_host_devices = true
 					runtime_engine = "engine"
 					runtime_root = "root"
 					runtime_type = "type"
-					[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.test.options]
+					[plugins."io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime".containerd.runtimes.test.options]
 						BinaryName = "/usr/bin/test"
 						SystemdCgroup = true
 				`,
diff --git a/pkg/config/engine/containerd/containerd.go b/pkg/config/engine/containerd/containerd.go
index 3e171018..767f0588 100644
--- a/pkg/config/engine/containerd/containerd.go
+++ b/pkg/config/engine/containerd/containerd.go
@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	// This was deprecated in v1.4 in favour of containerd.default_runtime_name.
 	// Support for this section has been removed in v2.0.
 	UseLegacyConfig bool
+	// CRIRuntimePluginName represents the fully qualified name of the containerd plugin
+	// for the CRI runtime service. The name of this plugin was changed in v3 of the
+	// containerd configuration file.
+	CRIRuntimePluginName string
 }
 
 var _ engine.Interface = (*Config)(nil)
@@ -101,7 +105,11 @@ func New(opts ...Option) (engine.Interface, error) {
 	switch configVersion {
 	case 1:
 		return (*ConfigV1)(cfg), nil
-	case 2, 3:
+	case 2:
+		cfg.CRIRuntimePluginName = "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri"
+		return cfg, nil
+	case 3:
+		cfg.CRIRuntimePluginName = "io.containerd.cri.v1.runtime"
 		return cfg, nil
 	}
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("unsupported config version: %v", configVersion)
@@ -133,7 +141,7 @@ func (c *Config) GetRuntimeConfig(name string) (engine.RuntimeConfig, error) {
 	if c == nil || c.Tree == nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("config is nil")
 	}
-	runtimeData := c.GetSubtreeByPath([]string{"plugins", "io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri", "containerd", "runtimes", name})
+	runtimeData := c.GetSubtreeByPath([]string{"plugins", c.CRIRuntimePluginName, "containerd", "runtimes", name})
 	return &containerdCfgRuntime{
 		tree: runtimeData,
 	}, nil