All Ways to Play Windows Games on Your Mac

But let’s start from the very beginning. Where can we find Mac games? Today we have several installation options macOS compatible games directly. The offer is rich and varied thanks to developers who are increasingly aware of the need to port their games to different platforms, and not just release games for Windows.

• app store: The first place to look for games is the official Apple store. The App Store provides apps and games that you can install instantly. There are free and paid ones. If, in addition, you have Mac with M1 processor or higher, iPhone and/or iPad games can be added to Mac games.
• apple arcade: Added to the regular official offer are Apple Arcade-branded games available with an optional monthly subscription, although you can temporarily try it for free.
• Steam: in addition to the official offer, this valve shop This is the main game store. Most of them are for Windows, but offer for macOS it increases and sometimes we find important titles.
• Mac Game Store: although this shop mostly links to steamwe highlight it because it is focused on Mac games, plus it always has discounts and offers.
• G.O.G.: Possibly the second most popular online store in sale of games for Windows and for Mac. Among its features, it allows buy DRM-free games so as not to depend on additional installers or managers.

These are the main options for finding native Mac games. In addition, you will definitely find other online stores with deals or bundles. Otherwise, among the games available on discs, you can still find some on stores like Amazon etc. But this is a titanic search that will leave you frustrated by the lack of results.

The first alternative to native games for Mac. Say what you want play title for windows and it’s not ported to macOS. If you don’t want to overcomplicate yourself, you can try solutions that emulate Windows components and they allow you to install Windows games on your Mac. The result is not 100% effective and not all games are compatible, but if you want to restore titles that are several years old, this is the least problematic solution.

• crossover: This is the most popular solution in this style. It’s paid, but offers support for important Windows games. Please check the list before purchasing this software. It is based on Wine like the rest, but simplifies the installation process. Its latest version compatible with Mac with M1.
• PlayOnMac: A free and open source solution based on Wine. Here you can check the list of compatible games. It also supports certain applications. With its wizard, the process of installing Windows games on Mac is relatively easy.
• Wine: original Linux software for run applications and games for Windows on Linux and macOS. Its installation and handling is somewhat complicated. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use derivatives like those mentioned above. Add to the list waterskin D wine merchant.

Another way to play Windows games on Mac is to use virtual machines. This is a slightly more complicated option than the previous emulators, since this time you will have to install windows. This means that two operating systems will be running on your Mac at the same time. On the other hand, this has its advantages, since it is possible to emulate the necessary hardware conditions.

First, I exclude three solutions for creating virtual machines such as Virtual box, UTM or QEMU. I often recommend them because they are free, open source, and make it easy to create Windows and Linux virtual machines. However, while all three are very valid, on site they are not as efficient. That is, the graphic part is emulated well, but not enough to run games. There are two main options for this.

• Desktop Parallels: Supports Mac with Intel processor and M1. You can create Linux, Mac and Windows virtual machines. Do you have special options for improve graphics for video, graphic design or games. This is the most recommended option for Mac with M1 where you want to use Windows.
• vmware fusion: Available in Player (free) and Pro (paid) versions. Both support graphics with OpenGL and DirectX 11. It allows you to virtualize Linux and Windows and run Windows games. A classic, but also some relatively recent ones.

We have seen almost everything Gaming PC Alternatives If you want to run Windows games on your Mac. Apart from ported games, Wine emulation and virtual machines, another option is to install Windows on your Mac. Less disk space as you need host macOS and Windows on the same disk.

Install Windows on Mac It’s easy thanks to Boot Camp, an assistant that guides us through the installation step by step. In addition, it will add drivers for all components to work on Windows. Badly? It is only available on Intel Mac computers. If you have Mac M1not an option at the moment.

The same thing happens with Steam OS. It is a version of Linux that allows you to run Windows games thanks to Proton, software that acts as an intermediary between these games and Linux. Thus, most of the catalog can be played with this operating system Steam even if you don’t have Windows installed. Disadvantages? There is no official wizard to install SteamOS on Mac, you will need to use Boot Camp initially. Second drawback. There is no SteamOS version for Mac with M1.

Definitely, play Windows games without PC with Windows it is possible. Obviously it’s not that easy. But you have different alternatives depending on whether you want to play classic games, the latest games, or a game recently released to the market. In each case, one or the other option will be better. It will also depend on what you are going to use it for. But it won’t for the available options.