Necromantic tricks to bring long-forgotten software back from the grave with this guide on how to run old software and games on your Mac.
The Mac has plenty of games, but it'll always get the short end of the stick compared to Windows. If you want to play the latest games on your Mac, you have no choice but to install Windows ... or do you?
There are a few ways you can play Windows games on your Mac without having to dedicate a partition to Boot Camp or giving away vast amounts of hard drive space to a virtual machine app like VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Here are a few other options for playing Windows games on your Mac without the hassle or expense of having to install Windows.
GeForce Now
PC gaming on Mac? Yes you can, thanks to Nvidia's GeForce Now. The service allows users to play PC games from Steam or Battle.net on macOS devices. Better still, the graphic power of these games resides on Nvidia's servers. The biggest drawback: the service remains in beta, and there's been no announcement when the first full release is coming or what a monthly subscription will cost.
What Games Will Run On My Laptop
For now, at least, the service is free to try and enjoy. All supported GeForce NOW titles work on Macs, and yes, there are plenty of them already available!
The Wine Project
The Mac isn't the only computer whose users have wanted to run software designed for Windows. More than 20 years ago, a project was started to enable Windows software to work on POSIX-compliant operating systems like Linux. It's called The Wine Project, and the effort continues to this day. OS X is POSIX-compliant, too (it's Unix underneath all of Apple's gleam, after all), so Wine will run on the Mac also.
Wine is a recursive acronym that stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. It's been around the Unix world for a very long time, and because OS X is a Unix-based operating system, it works on the Mac too.
As the name suggests, Wine isn't an emulator. The easiest way to think about it is as a compatibility layer that translates Windows Application Programming Interface (API) calls into something that the Mac can understand. So when a game says 'draw a square on the screen,' the Mac does what it's told.
You can use straight-up Wine if you're technically minded. It isn't for the faint of heart, although there are instructions online, and some kind souls have set up tutorials, which you can find using Google. Wine doesn't work with all games, so your best bet is for you to start searching for which games you'd like to play and whether anyone has instructions to get it working on the Mac using Wine.
Note: At the time of this writing, The Wine Project does not support macOS 10.15 Catalina.
CrossOver Mac
CodeWeavers took some of the sting out of Wine by making a Wine-derived app called CrossOver Mac. CrossOver Mac is Wine with specialized Mac support. Like Wine, it's a Windows compatibility layer for the Mac that enables some games to run.
CodeWeavers has modified the source code to Wine, made some improvements to configuration to make it easier, and provided support for their product, so you shouldn't be out in the cold if you have trouble getting things to run.
My experience with CrossOver — like Wine — is somewhat hit or miss. Its list of actual supported games is pretty small. Many other unsupported games do, in fact work — the CrossOver community has many notes about what to do or how to get them to work, which are referenced by the installation program. Still, if you're more comfortable with an app that's supported by a company, CrossOver may be worth a try. What's more, a free trial is available for download, so you won't be on the hook to pay anything to give it a shot.
Boxer
If you're an old-school gamer and have a hankering to play DOS-based PC games on your Mac, you may have good luck with Boxer. Boxer is a straight-up emulator designed especially for the Mac, which makes it possible to run DOS games without having to do any configuring, installing extra software, or messing around in the Mac Terminal app.
With Boxer, you can drag and drop CD-ROMs (or disk images) from the DOS games you'd like to play. It also wraps them into self-contained 'game boxes' to make them easy to play in the future and gives you a clean interface to find the games you have installed.
Boxer is built using DOSBox, a DOS emulation project that gets a lot of use over at GOG.com, a commercial game download service that houses hundreds of older PC games that work with the Mac. So if you've ever downloaded a GOG.com game that works using DOSBox, you'll have a basic idea of what to expect.
Some final thoughts
In the end, programs like the ones listed above aren't the most reliable way to play Windows games on your Mac, but they do give you an option.
Of course, another option is to run Windows on your Mac, via BootCamp or a virtual machine, which takes a little know-how and a lot of memory space on your Mac's hard drive.
How do you play your Windows games on Mac?
Let us know in the comment below!
Updated October 2019: Updated with the best options.
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What Macs Can Run Catalina
Finding good games for Mac® used to be slow and painful. There were very few games to choose from, and the options available were quite old. But things have definitely changed a lot.
Thanks to committed developers such as Aspyr, Feral Interactive, and even Blizzard and Valve, there are now lots of great, recent games you can play on your Mac. And with the continuous improvements of tools such as Parallels Desktop for Mac, playing Windows games on your Mac is becoming easier and easier.
Today Ric from MacgamerHQ.com will share ten of the best games you can play on macOS®, including some of the most exciting Mac games from 2018 and a few Windows-only games that run great thanks to Parallels Desktop.
1. Rise of the Tomb Raider
This action survival game is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider reboot from 2013. The game picks up right where its predecessor ended and takes Lara around the world in her quest to discover the secret of immortality.
This game has a solid story waiting for you, but what makes it great are the excellent survival elements, shooting mechanics, and insane action sequences. If you enjoy action adventure games, this is the best you will find on macOS.
Developed for Mac by Feral Interactive, Rise of the Tomb Raider is also one of the finest usages of Metal 2, the new graphics API from Apple. For the longest time, Mac games have suffered in terms of performance compared to Windows. With the improvements made to Metal 2 and the great job some studios have done to implement it, Mac games’ performance continues to improve. Also, having one of the best Mac computers for gaming certainly helps, too…
2. Fortnite: Battle Royale
Fortnite is such a sensation, it probably needs no introduction. But in the remote possibility that you’re not aware of this game, Fortnite is not only the most famous Battle Royale game right now, it’s the most famous game of the moment, period.
Pitting you in a huge map with 100 other players, you’ll need to scavenge weapons and armor to survive until you become the last man standing. Fortnite somehow creates tension and excitement for everyone involved, from the experienced to the beginners. That’s what makes it such a fun game to play.
Behind the playful graphics hides an intense game that is free to play. You read that right—the gaming sensation of the moment is one of the best free games for Mac. What are you waiting for?
3. Rocket League
Rocket League is one of those games that is hard to explain. Combining high-flying rocket-powered cars with soccer, the game pits you against another team, and you’ll need to use your battle-car to score.
That is, of course, easier said than done, because the game features an impressive physics-based gameplay that will require you to have perfect timing, placement, and anticipation in order to score. You can play solo against another opponent or as part of a team.
Needless to say, this is a multiplayer game that is ten times more fun when playing with friends. If you haven’t tried it yet and are looking for a team-focused online game, Rocket League is for you.
4. Civilization 6
Perhaps the best strategy game out there, we sure are glad that Aspyr brought Civilization 6 to MacOS. The follow-up to the stellar Civilization 5, Civ 6 lets you once again take the helm of an infant civilization and turn it into a mighty empire.
Your objective is simple: create the greatest and most powerful civilization in the World. It will then be up to you to decide how to best do it. Do you want to conquer the world using your mighty army? Or perhaps you want to create a trade empire that puts the other Civs to shame? It will be up to you. Even if you’ve played hundreds of hours of Civ games before, Civ 6 has plenty of new features and improvements in store for you.
Civ 6 also introduced new mechanics and improved graphics that take the franchise even further. A quick warning, though, Civ 6 is a very demanding game. In fact, you should have a modern Mac from 2016 onwards to properly enjoy it.
5. Subnautica
As you can see, some of the most famous AAA games support macOS. That’s great, but we can’t forget about all the world-class indie games that helped Mac gaming thrive.
Subnautica is one of the latest examples. In this survival adventure game, you’ll have to explore an alien underworld planet and gather whatever resources you can find to survive.
Subnautica somehow manages to find the right balance between survival and exploration. As you progress, you get to upgrade your equipment and go further into the depths to find better loot—but also face bigger dangers.
6. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
The sequel to one of the highest-rated RPGs of all time, Pillars of Eternity II broke crowdfunding records, raising over four million dollars. Those are insane figures, but I’m happy to report developer Obsidian made good use of every dollar it raised.
This isometric RPG managed to surpass the original in virtually every way. The game features a rich story, deep characters, a fascinating world, and improved tactical combat. Granted, this RPG is reminiscent to old-school RPGs, and if you’re looking for an action-heavy game, Pillars of Eternity might not be for you. But if you’re looking for a good story and fascinating world to immerse yourself in, give it a try.
7. DiRT Rally
DiRT Rally isn’t simply another racing game from Codemasters; this is probably their best game to date.
DiRT Rally features excellent gameplay that is both precise and exciting. The sense of speed is there, and you can always fine-tune the difficulty settings to suit your preferences. Whether you want a challenging simulation or an intense casual game, DiRT Rally can be both. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a rally fan or not—this game has so much to offer.
Plus, DiRT Rally is the perfect example of how to do a Mac port right. Feral Interactive somehow managed to create a bug-free game that looks great and can run flawlessly on older Mac computers.
8. Terraria
Described by many as Minecraft in 2D, Terraria is so much more than that.
In Terraria, every game takes place in a randomly generated world full of monsters to fight, rare resources to find, and dangerous caverns to explore. But then it’s up to you to decide the kind of game you want to play. You can focus on exploring the world in search of treasure and rare resources. You can seek one of the bosses that hide within the world and fight it to the death. Or you can build a city of your own and house mysterious allies.
Terraria may be a few years old, but because of its cool retro graphics and deep gameplay, it’s still an excellent game to play today.
9. Overwatch
In spite of all of these macOS-ready titles, there are a few games that are sorely missing.
Overwatch is one of those games. Released in 2016 and winner of most Game of the Year awards, this team-based multiplayer shooter keeps getting better and better. It currently has over 30 million registered players and has received countless free updates, including new characters and maps.
Overwatch is also the only game from Blizzard that doesn’t support macOS. That makes us miss it even more. Luckily, it can run beautifully on a Mac using Parallels Desktop. The Parallels team recently tested it again to make sure it runs properly under Windows 10 and Parallels Desktop. As you can see from the video below, the game runs beautifully.
Free Games To Play On Mac
So if you were disappointed that Overwatch is not available for Mac, you can still play it with the help of Parallels.
10. Crysis
Conclusion
What Games Will Run On My Pc
By now you should be convinced that macOS offers enough quality games to keep most gamers entertained.
And if you ever felt frustrated that the one game you were dying to play is not available on Mac, remember that you can always check if it works with Parallels Desktop. That includes demanding games such as Overwatch or brand-new games such as Jurassic World Evolution.
So, what will you be playing next?
Thanks to Ric from MacgamerHQ.com for this very interesting Guest Blog post.
If you want to try out any Windows Game that doesn’t work on the Mac, check out these instructions how to make it work with Parallels Desktop for Mac and watch our Playlist with different Windows games that work perfectly on the Mac.