Mac(Macs)在游戏方面以不足而闻名。没有人会购买Mac 来玩(Mac)游戏。他们只是在Mac(Macs)上玩游戏，因为这就是他们所拥有的。
事实上，Mac游戏取得了长足的进步，但Windows仍然占据 PC 游戏的最大份额。好消息是你可以在你的Mac上玩许多(Mac)Windows游戏，如果你有硬件，它们会运行良好。我们将介绍Mac(Mac)游戏玩家玩Windows游戏时必须使用的所有最实用的选项。
英特尔与苹果硅 Mac
您可能知道Apple已将重心转向其CPU(CPUs)和GPU(GPUs)。现代Mac(Macs)被称为“ Apple Silicon ”，现在使用与 iPhone 和 iPad 相同的硬件。您会在M1 MacBook Air、M1 Mac Mini和M1 MacBook Pros等流行电脑中找到 Apple Silicon。
这有很多好处，但如果你想在你的Mac上玩(Mac)Windows游戏，我们下面讨论的一些途径对你不开放。或者，至少需要一个额外的步骤才能工作。
检查 Mac 版本
在你做任何太复杂的事情之前，请确保没有你想玩的游戏的原生Mac版本。(Mac)很容易假设游戏仅适用于Windows，但您可能会惊讶于有多少游戏具有原生Mac版本。
例如，《无主之地 3》（2019 年的标题）拥有出色的原生Mac版本。购买时，您通常会获得两个版本的游戏，因此您可能已经拥有您购买的Windows游戏的(Windows)Mac版本。
使用他们的桌面客户端，您可以轻松地检查您的 Steam、Epic Game Store、Battle.net或 Good Old Games ( GoG ) 库中是否有游戏的Mac版本。(Mac)只需(Simply)按操作系统过滤库中的游戏。
在每个店面中，您还可以过滤游戏以仅显示带有Mac版本的游戏。请注意，如果您运行的是 macOS Catalina或更新版本，32 位Mac游戏将不再运行。
寻找非官方端口
虽然游戏的官方开发者可能不提供官方Mac版本，但您有时可以找到在Mac上创建该游戏可玩版本的粉丝制作的端口。
例如，您可以使用DevilutionX玩经典的(DevilutionX)暗黑破坏神(Diablo)游戏，只要它是 64 位应用程序，它就可以在任何现代Mac上运行。(Mac)另一个值得一看的地方是Mac Source Ports。本网站收集源端口，为已向公众发布源代码的游戏制作的非官方端口。
您仍然需要购买原始游戏，然后使用提供的说明进行转换，但最终，您将拥有一款可以在 macOS 上完美运行的游戏。
使用 Boot Camp 运行 Windows
在Mac上玩(Mac)Windows游戏最有效的方法是在其上安装Windows并有效地将其变成一台Windows PC。使用官方的 macOS Boot Camp功能，您可以做到这一点，它可以让您在 macOS 和(Boot Camp)Windows安装
之间进行双重引导。
正确设置Boot Camp并安装所有正确的驱动程序后， Windows程序和游戏将完全像在Windows计算机上一样运行。因此，您可以玩Windows Steam游戏和需要Apple不再支持的
OpenGL的游戏。
遗憾的是，Boot Camp不适用于Apple Silicon Mac(Apple Silicon Macs)，而且大多数运行Intel CPU的(Intel CPUs)Mac(Macs)的集成GPU 都很(GPUs)薄弱，因此您不会玩任何特别新的或复杂的东西。如果您拥有配备强大的独立GPU的(GPU)Intel Mac，那么您将度过一段美好的时光！
训练营(Boot Camp)过程相当复杂，值得一个完整的指南。幸运的是，我们有深入的 Boot Camp 指南(in-depth Boot Camp guide)，可让您在 Mac 上玩游戏。
Boot Camp的主要缺点是每次玩游戏时都必须重新启动计算机。如果这听起来太拖累了，那么下一个选项可能更有吸引力。
运行虚拟机
虚拟机(virtual machine)是一种特殊类型的软件，它可以使操作系统误以为它们是在真实计算机上运行的。它是一台模拟计算机，通过使用此软件，您可以在 macOS 上运行Linux或Windows等操作系统。(Windows)
Mac用户有多种虚拟机选项，但VMWare Fusion和VirtualBox可能是最知名的选项。对于相对简单的Windows(Windows)游戏或较旧的游戏，使用虚拟机可能是一种方便有效的解决方案。但是，需要本机驱动程序的高级GPU功能可能无法通过虚拟机正常运行——表现为故障或无法播放的性能。
虚拟机主要用于访问生产力软件或没有本地Mac版本的特定软件包。因此，在游戏方面，您的里程可能会有所不同。
Apple Silicon 上的虚拟机
如果您使用的是Apple Silicon Mac，您仍然可以使用Windows运行虚拟机。不过，您只能运行Windows的(Windows)ARM版本，因为它与Apple Silicon计算机
的CPU架构相匹配。
Windows for ARM使用类似于Rosetta 2的转换层运行标准Windows应用程序，用于在非 Intel Apple Silicon上运行Intel Mac应用程序。但是，它远没有那么高效或高性能。
如果您尝试运行这样的Windows游戏，您将运行多层仿真和虚拟化。这是完全无法播放性能的秘诀，在撰写本文时，我们不推荐它。
使用云流
您可以在 Mac 上玩Windows 游戏，而无需在 Mac(Mac)上(Windows)实际玩(Mac)它们！如何？答案是云游戏。运行游戏的实际计算机位于某处的数据中心，声音和视频正在流式传输到您的计算机，并且您的命令被发回。
只要您拥有正确的互联网连接并且居住在离数据中心足够近的地方以提供良好的延迟，那将是一种极好的体验。尽管我们强烈建议尽可能使用以太网(Ethernet)而不是Wi-Fi。
云流媒体最好的部分是您不必将游戏限制在Mac上。您可以在手机甚至某些机顶盒（例如Google Chromecast或Android TV）上继续玩游戏。
著名的游戏流媒体服务包括Google Stadia、Nvidia GeForce Now、Microsoft Xbox 的Xcloud和PlayStation Now。更好的是，其中许多服务还可以在 iOS 设备上运行，这样您就可以在Mac以外的Apple设备上进行游戏。
使用 Crossover Mac(Use Crossover Mac)、PlayOnMac、Parallels Desktop或WINE
虽然传统的虚拟机可能适用于Mac上的许多(Mac)Windows游戏，但最好的整体解决方案很可能是兼容层或也使用虚拟化的混合系统。这里的主要优势（除了性能）是您不需要重新启动Mac或在裸机系统和虚拟机之间切换。在用户看来，这些游戏应该像任何其他Mac应用程序一样运行。
跨界 Mac(Crossover Mac)（49.95 美元）
Crossover是WINE项目的商业实现，我们将在后面介绍。Crossover将(Crossover)Windows应用程序的“语言”翻译成 macOS 可以理解的东西，然后再翻译回来。这种方法在实践中是有效的，并且速度足够快，可以让许多游戏在可玩状态下运行。
苹果硅(Apple Silicon)呢？虽然性能损失较大，但Windows应用程序可以通过三层仿真和虚拟化通过Crossover运行。(Crossover)为什么要使用Crossover而不是简单地使用免费和开源的WINE？答案是Crossover拥有一支专门的开发团队，他们为最受欢迎的游戏引入特定于游戏的调整和修复。因此，您可以在这种情况下以最佳性能玩游戏。
Crossover相当昂贵，但它的成本低于Windows许可证，并且提供免费试用，以确保您最喜欢的游戏在支付任何费用之前就可以运行。
PlayOnMac是一个免费的兼容层和基于WINE项目的(WINE)Mac OS X仿真应用程序，就像CrossOver一样。该应用程序将每个Windows(Windows)应用程序“包装”在一个兼容层中，并通过在线调整数据库自动对每个应用程序进行调整。与商业解决方案相比， PlayOnMac(PlayOnMac)可能没有最广泛的兼容性，但它是免费的，因此尝试并没有什么坏处。
与CrossOver一样，Parallels Desktop使用虚拟化技术和Windows的ARM版本在Apple Silicon机器上运行。制作Parallels的人做了很多优化。如果您只想玩游戏，Parallels有一个特殊的“仅限游戏(Games)”模式，可确保使用OpenGL或DirectX获得最佳性能。就像使用Parallels安装(Parallels)Steam for Windows等游戏客户端并运行游戏一样简单。
使用Apple Silicon Mac时，他们推荐使用16GB RAM(16GB of RAM)的 Mac，因为这会显着影响某些游戏的性能。
WINE（Wine Is Not an Emulator）是 macOS、 (Wine)Linux和BSD等类 Unix 操作系统兼容性的鼻祖。如上所述，WINE构成了Crossover和PlayOnMac等商业解决方案的基础，但您不会在这里获得付费支持。这都是社区驱动的。
这不是一件坏事。当然，您甚至可能会发现Wine社区是一个受欢迎的地方，论坛上有许多教程和乐于助人的用户。Wine从 6.1 版起可与Apple Silicon Macs配合使用，但仅限于 64 位Windows可执行 ( .exe ) 文件。
未来的选择：带有Proton 的(Proton)Apple Silicon Linux
与 macOS 一样，Linux在其存在的大部分时间里作为游戏平台的声誉相当差，但最近这种情况正在迅速改变。由于Proton兼容层，现在有很多游戏可以完美运行，并且有官方游戏 PC，例如Steam Deck，它只使用 Proton。
虽然尚未准备好，但开发人员正在为Apple Silicon开发本机版本的(Apple Silicon)Linux。Proton背后的人也在进行必要的调整，以使Proton在Apple Silicon版本的Linux上工作。虽然它可能永远不会像在Windows游戏 PC上运行的原生DirectX游戏那么好，但这个未来的选择可能会非常接近！
How to Play Windows Games on Mac
Macs have a repυtation for being inadequate when it comeѕ to gaming. No one buys a Mac to game on. They just game on Macs because that’s what they have.
The truth is that Mac gaming has progressed in leaps and bounds, but Windows still has the lion’s share of PC games. The good news is that you can play many Windows games on your Mac, and they’ll run well if you have the hardware for it. We’ll cover all the most practical options Mac gamers have to play Windows games.
Intel vs. Apple Silicon Macs
You may know that Apple has pivoted to its CPUs and GPUs. Referred to as “Apple Silicon,” modern Macs now use the same hardware you find in iPhones and iPads. You’ll find Apple Silicon in popular computers such as the M1 MacBook Air, M1 Mac Mini, and M1 MacBook Pros.
This comes with many advantages, but if you want to play Windows games on your Mac, some of the avenues we discuss below are not open to you. Or, at the very least, require an extra step to work.
Check For a Mac Version
Before you do anything too complicated, make sure that there isn’t a native Mac version of the game you want to play. It’s easy to assume that a game is Windows only, but you may be surprised by how many games have native Mac versions.
For example, Borderlands 3 (a 2019 title) has an excellent native Mac version. When you buy it, you usually get both versions of the game, so you may already own the Mac versions of the Windows games you’ve purchased.
Using their desktop clients, you can easily check whether you have the Mac version of a game within your Steam, Epic Game Store, Battle.net, or Good Old Games (GoG) libraries. Simply filter the games in your library by operating system.
In each storefront, you can also filter games to only show titles with a Mac version. Note that if you’re running macOS Catalina or newer, 32-bit Mac games will no longer work.
Look For Unofficial Ports
While the official developer of a game may not provide an official Mac version, you can sometimes find fan-made ports that create playable versions of that game on Mac.
For example, you can play the classic Diablo game using DevilutionX, and it will work on any modern Mac, as long as it’s a 64-bit application. Another great place to look is Mac Source Ports. This website collects source ports, unofficial ports made for games where the source code has been released to the public.
You’ll still need to buy the original game and then convert it using the instructions provided, but in the end, you’ll have a game that runs perfectly on macOS.
Run Windows With Boot Camp
The most effective way to play Windows games on a Mac is to install Windows on it and effectively turn it into a Windows PC. Using the official macOS Boot Camp feature, you can do this, which lets you dual-boot between a macOS and Windows installation.
With Boot Camp adequately set up and all the right drivers installed, Windows programs and games will run exactly as they do on a Windows computer. So you can play Windows Steam games and games that require OpenGL, which Apple no longer supports.
Sadly, Boot Camp does not work with Apple Silicon Macs, and most Macs running Intel CPUs have weak integrated GPUs so you won’t be playing anything particularly new or complex. If you have an Intel Mac with a powerful discrete GPU, you’re in for a good time!
The Boot Camp process is rather involved, deserving a complete guide. Luckily we have an in-depth Boot Camp guide to get you playing on your Mac.
The main downside of Boot Camp is that you have to reboot your computer every time you want to play. If that sounds like too much of a drag, the next option may be more attractive.
Run a Virtual Machine
A virtual machine is a special type of software that fools operating systems into thinking they are running on a real computer. It’s a simulated computer, and by using this software, you can run operating systems like Linux or Windows on macOS.
There are several virtual machine options for Mac users, but VMWare Fusion and VirtualBox are likely the best-known options. Using a virtual machine can be a convenient and effective solution for relatively simple Windows games or older titles. However, advanced GPU features that require native drivers may not work well through a virtual machine—showing up as glitches or unplayable performance.
Virtual machines are mainly good for accessing productivity software or specific packages that don’t have a native Mac version. So when it comes to games, your mileage may vary.
Virtual Machines on Apple Silicon
If you’re using an Apple Silicon Mac, you can still run virtual machines with Windows. Still, you’re limited to running the ARM version of Windows since that matches the CPU architecture of the Apple Silicon computer.
Windows for ARM runs standard Windows applications using a translation layer similar to Rosetta 2 for running Intel Mac apps on non-Intel Apple Silicon. However, it’s nowhere near as efficient or performant.
If you try to run a Windows game like this, you’re running through multiple layers of emulation and virtualization. That’s a recipe for completely unplayable performance, and at the time of writing, we can’t recommend it.
Use Cloud Streaming
You can play Windows games on your Mac without actually playing them on your Mac! How? The answer is cloud-gaming. The actual computer running the game is in a data center somewhere, the sound and video are streaming to your computer, and your commands are sent back.
As long as you have the right internet connection and live close enough to the data center for good latency, it can be an excellent experience. Although we strongly recommend using Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi if possible.
The best part of cloud streaming is that you don’t have to limit your gaming to your Mac. You can pick up and continue your game on a mobile phone or even some set-top boxes such as a Google Chromecast or Android TV.
Notable game streaming services include Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now, Microsoft Xbox’s Xcloud, and PlayStation Now. Even better, many of these services can also run on iOS devices so that you can game on Apple gear other than your Mac.
Use Crossover Mac, PlayOnMac, Parallels Desktop, or WINE
While a traditional virtual machine may work for many Windows games on Mac, the best overall solution may very well be a compatibility layer or a hybrid system that also uses virtualization. The main advantage here (apart from performance) is that you don’t need to restart your Mac or switch between the bare metal system and the virtual machine. The games should just run like any other Mac app to the user’s eye.
Crossover is a commercial implementation of the WINE project, which we’ll cover later. Crossover translates the “language” of Windows applications into something macOS understands and back again. This approach is effective in practice and is fast enough for many games to run in a playable state.
What about Apple Silicon? While there is a larger performance penalty, Windows apps can run through Crossover through a triple layer of emulation and virtualization. Why use Crossover instead of simply using the free and open-source WINE? The answer is that Crossover has a dedicated team of developers who introduce game-specific tweaks and fixes for the most popular titles. So you can play games with the best performance possible under the circumstances.
Crossover is rather expensive, but it costs less than a Windows license, and there’s a free trial to ensure that your favorite games work before paying anything.
PlayOnMac is a free compatibility layer and emulation app for Mac OS X based on the WINE project, just like CrossOver. The application “wraps” each Windows application in a compatibility layer and automatically makes per-app adjustments thanks to an online database of tweaks. PlayOnMac might not have the broadest compatibility compared to commercial solutions, but it is free, so there’s no harm in trying.
Like CrossOver, Parallels Desktop uses virtualization technology and Windows’s ARM version to run on Apple Silicon machines. The folks who make Parallels have done a lot of optimization. If you only want to play games, Parallels has a special “Games only” mode that ensures the best performance using OpenGL or DirectX. It’s as easy as installing a game client like Steam for Windows using Parallels and running your games.
Using an Apple Silicon Mac, they recommend one with 16GB of RAM since this impacts performance significantly in some games.
WINE (Free and Open-source)
WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) is the grandaddy of compatibility for Unix-like operating systems like macOS, Linux, and BSD. As noted above, WINE forms the basis of commercial solutions like Crossover and PlayOnMac, but you won’t have paid support here. It’s all community-driven.
That’s not a bad thing. Of course, you may even find that the Wine community is a welcoming place to be, with many tutorials and helpful users on forums. Wine works with Apple Silicon Macs as of version 6.1, but you’re limited to 64-bit Windows executable (.exe) files.
Future Option: Apple Silicon Linux With Proton
Like macOS, Linux has had a rather poor reputation as a gaming platform for most of its existence, but that’s been changing rapidly recently. There are plenty of games that now work perfectly thanks to the Proton compatibility layer, and there are official gaming PCs such as the Steam Deck, which uses only Proton.
While it’s not ready yet, developers are working on a native version of Linux for Apple Silicon. The folks behind Proton are also working on the necessary tweaks to get Proton working on an Apple Silicon version of Linux. While it will likely never be as good as native DirectX games running on a Windows gaming PC, this future option could come very close!
