Do you want to play video games on Macbook or iMac? Let’s find out how to install games on MacOS
Everyone sees Mac as an excellent PC especially those looking for a nice-looking device and a simple and fast operating system in daily use and are ready to sacrifice some of the features that can be found on a Desktop PC with Windows installed.
Many of us think that it is not possible to play games on Mac, leaving this task to a Windows PC (definitely more suitable, especially for the power of video cards).
But if you want to play on Mac what should we do and how can we install games that we already own?
In this guide we will show you how to install games on Mac, at least those declared compatible with the Apple platform.
But let’s not expect the same performance on Windows PC: the video cards built into Macs allow you to play games with a few years on the shoulders or with graphics settings reduced to a minimum, we rarely have the same gaming experience of a Windows PC.
Minimum requirements for playing on Mac Macs
It also requires some computing power to run compatible games correctly.
The features that must own our Mac to be suitable for the game are much lower than a PC with Windows:- CPU: considering that all recent Macs have an Intel CPU, we try to choose a Mac with a recent quad-core CPU.
– RAM: in order to be able to play effectively on Mac, we recommend to bet only on models with at least 8 GB of RAM, so you can run all compatible games.- GPU: in the case of the iMac, make sure that the AMD Radeon Pro graphics chip is present (in the case of the iMac Pro, the AMD Radeon Pro VegA graphics chip will be present with 8GB or 16 GB of HBM2 memory).
Models with integrated Intel graphics chips are not suitable for playing (so all MacBook laptops).
– Archiving: practically all Macs are pointing to the SSD, so make sure the solid state drive is present so you get great performance when you start the game or during uploads.
These are the minimum requirements for playing on a modern Mac; if our Mac does not respect one of the requirements seen above, the risk of having problems during the games is very high, so it is better to let it go.
How to install the games on Mac with Steam
The easiest way to install games on Mac is to use the Steam distribution platform, which has a vast catalog of downloadable and bootable games on Macs.
First we download the Mac-compatible platform client OS X from the link here -> Steam Client for Mac.
A file called steam.dmg, which is the installer of the Mac-compatible programs, will be downloaded to your Mac.
The installer will immediately show a window to accept the conditions of use of the client and the distribution platform.
Click on Agree to accept the license for use; after a few seconds you will be asked to drag the Steam symbol into the Applications folder, as shown below.
Now hold down on the Steam symbol and drag it into the Applications folder on the right; You have finished installing Steam on the Mac!
To open the client you just have to open the Launchpad in the bottom bar and look for the Steam symbol.
The operating system will warn us that the program has been downloaded from the Internet; now click on Open to start it correctly.
The first time you start Steam, it will most likely start to download an updated version of the client, you will only have to wait for the end of the download to be able to view the login screen for Steam services.
If you do not have an account on Steam yet, click on Create new account; if instead you already use Steam on PC and want to bring your games on the Mac, you will have to use the item Login to an existing account.
Once logged in (two-factor authentication may be required via email or phone number) you will be able to view the client interface as we are used to seeing it on Windows.
In the interface are now available games compatible with Mac, but you can search them both in the menu Store (to search for new games not yet purchased) and in the Library (to see compatible games among those purchased on Windows).
You can also add Steam license keys using the lower left button Add a game.
If you have games in your library that do not appear on this client, it means that the game is not compatible with the Mac so it can not be installed; when buying a new game always check compatibility, so you can find out in advance if the game can be played on the Mac.
Once you have chosen the game you are interested in click on Add to Cart(to buy it via PayPal or credit card) or on Install (to install games already in your possession).
The Steam client will take care to download the game and install it automatically on the Mac, also installing any additional components to run the game properly.
Compatibility of games with Mac
Not all games available for Windows can be played on Mac, that’s why we recommend using Steam directly to find games that support Mac OS X and the hardware made available by Mac.
We can find a list of compatible Mac games on the dedicated Steam page, accessible from here -> MacOS Steam games.
Just browse the menus offered or use the search bar at the top to find out if the game we love can also be played on the Mac.
As a general rule the games compatible with the Mac are those that have support to OpenGL or Vulkan graphics libraries, the unique that can be used outside the Windows environment to correctly manage the graphics of the games (on Windows are instead used the proprietary DirectX graphics libraries, not available on Mac).
If the game you are looking for has support for these graphic libraries or a fast conversion is expected, it is highly likely that it will be compatible with your Mac and will be available via Steam.