How to Play More Games on Your Mac

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

You can game on Macbook and iMac. However, Mac users don’t have the luxury of playing more games like Windows PC users. First, the games that work on PC don’t work on Mac. Mac is not the best choice for professional gamers.

Macs have numerous advantages including the simplistic MacOS design and user-friendly design but aren’t optimized for gaming. The operating system limits the gaming experience. It’s designed for simplicity, creativity, and efficiency as work and software computers.

Macs are an all-in-one integrated system – the computer’s hardware and display aren’t separate like how PCs have standalone monitors and desktops. Compared to PCs, Mac doesn’t have a hardware barrier as such but the graphics card is not ideal for gaming. They are slightly less hands-on and customizable compared to PCs. You may choose to upgrade the graphics card to enhance speed and support the greater resolution – the big hurdles of playing games on a Mac.

Second, there are not many modern games available on the Apple app store. The main reason is the inability of Mac to handle the bigger games such as Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Witcher 3, and Persona 4. In fact, these games have been released for Windows PC only.

SEE ALSO: 5 Surefire Ways to Enhance Your Mac Experience

Install Windows on Mac

To enjoy an improved gaming experience with your Mac or Mac Pro, you can install Windows on your computer. That simple move can save you from spending money to buy a gaming Windows PC.

You require to set up BootCamp to install Windows on your Mac. Windows can be installed in a separate partition that allows you to switch between Windows and macOS. You will enjoy a wider range of games to choose from and enjoy.

Take note of the fact that Mac isn’t necessarily compatible with the Windows operating system. The installation process as well as subsequent installation of games may prove to be a headache. You can expect poor in-game performance and the chance that your hardware will deteriorate very quickly.

Consider Upgrading Your Mac

Compared to older models, the newer Mac models are more gaming optimized and friendly. You may need to upgrade to a newer model of iMac or MacBook if your current machine is several years old.

Newer Macs have both integrated and discrete AMD Radeon graphics cards which lend themselves to gaming. The discrete card can be dedicated to gaming with better results compared to the use of the GPU of previous Mac models.

The other option is to buy an external GPU or eGPU that is compatible and works with your Mac. Check for compatibility by ascertaining that your Mac has Intel processors. Connecting an eGPU gives your Mac a massive boost in graphics performance necessary for gaming. Buying an eGPU is an excellent alternative for people with older Macs since they must not buy a new computer.

Emulators

It’s possible to emulate games on your Mac. There are a number of emulators for retro game consoles that Mac users can utilize to play more games. Some of the most popular emulators for Mac users are OpenEmu and n64 emulator for Mac. You will simply install this emulator and select all the games that you want to emulate. The n64 emulator is able to put all your favorite retro games in one place.

Grab a ROM file for any favorite game or games you want to play and drag them into the n64 emulator main window to add them to your game library.

SEE ALSO: CleanMyMac | How to Cleanup Your Mac for Better Performance

Cloud Streaming

Cloud streaming offers a plug-and-play option for multiple devices including your phone, tablet, PC, and Mac devices. You can access and play games using cloud gaming services such as Nvidia GeForce Now, Vortex, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Cloud gaming services are exploding in popularity, especially for Mac users. Streaming is easy and straightforward to enjoy – no need to install games on your computer. Additionally, streaming eliminates the need to buy a power computer.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a subscription service that can be accessed from a browser or installed on your Mac. No downloading is required to start playing a game. GeForce Now has both free and subscription options. The effectiveness of cloud streaming is dependent on the speed and latency of your internet connection.

Run Games Under Wine

Wine is a compatibility layer for Mac and Linux systems so that they are able to run Windows programs. Wine is not a streaming service and can’t be an emulator. It can become technical to set up Wine correctly, especially for gaming. However, there are several third-party tools that can help make things easier.

Wine makes it easier to install and play Windows-exclusive games on Mac. Wine doesn’t provide the optimization boost that comes with BootCamp but saves you from rebooting every time you want to enter Windows for gaming.

Will gaming on Mac ever be good? Apple is working continuously to improve its core framework to support professional gaming. The focus is on supporting more modern games by working closely with developers to offer users plenty of games and an improved gaming experience.