Windows Games Playable on Mac using CrossOver and Parallels Desktop
I’ve a bunch of articles that I’ve written here on how to install and play Windows games on a Mac, like this one on running Witcher 3. Most of them are examples of games running on CodeWeavers CrossOver, especially version 23.5 onwards where D3DMetal support was first added. This support has greatly enhanced the performance and compatibility of these games on Apple Silicon Macs.
With D3DMetal, the translation of DirectX to Metal graphics APIs is more efficient, allowing for smoother gameplay and improved graphics quality. Many popular titles now run significantly better, with higher frame rates and reduced graphical glitches. The implementation of D3DMetal in CrossOver leverages the power of Apple’s M1 and M2 chip architectures, providing a gaming experience that approaches or even matches native Windows performance in some cases.
This makes playing Windows-exclusive games on a Mac more accessible and enjoyable for us Apple Silicon users.
I’ll continue to add more game recordings here as I play and try to run more Windows games on my Mac.
This post will serve as an ongoing list of all the Windows games I’ve personally tried that are playable on macOS. My aim is to explore as many titles as possible and provide insights into their performance and compatibility. Stay tuned for regular updates, and feel free to suggest any games you’d like me to test!
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries on Mac. 60 FPS @ 1080p – High settings
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Mac. 30-40+ FPS @ 1080p
Final Fantasy VII REMAKE INTERGRADE on Mac. 60+ FPS
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Mac. ~40 FPS – Medium settings @ 1080p
Witcher 3 Next Gen on Mac + Crossover revisited. ~60 FPS – Ultra settings @ 1080p
Fallout 4 on M2 Max. 100+ hours with no crashes!
Redout 2 @ 1440p using CrossOver 26.0 Preview
Redout 2 runs really well. 60 FPS stable in game at Epic quality settings. Do not turn on XeSS support as it makes the game crawl.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided @ 1440p using CrossOver 26.0 Preview
If you have the game on GOG and don’t want to buy the native version from Steam, it works well with CrossOver 26.0 Preview using D3DMetal and MSync.
Immortals Fenyx Rising can easily be installed using CrossOver 26.0 Preview
Immortals Fenyx Rising can be played on macOS using CrossOver 26.0 Preview, which translates Windows applications to run on Mac. The game is playable on newer Macs with M4 or M5 chips, but performance is subpar on the M2 Max chip, averaging around 20+ FPS.
Ghostrunner running at 60 FPS @ 1400p using CrossOver 25.0 Beta 1
The game is from my GOG library and I installed and launched using Heroic Launcher. The CrossOver bottle was set to use D3DMetal (GPTK 2.0) and MSync.
