Guide

How to play Windows games on an Apple Silicon Mac

Last updated: October 25, 2026

Most PC games are made for Windows only. Older Intel Macs could install Windows with Boot Camp, but Macs with Apple's own chips (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and their Pro, Max and Ultra versions) can't. You can still play a lot of Windows games on them. This guide compares the four ways to do it, says what each one costs, and lists what won't run at all.

The four ways, compared

Way	Windows license	Speed for 3D games	Plays offline	The catch
Mac version of the game	Not needed	Best	Yes	Most PC games don't have one
Translation app	Not needed	Good for most games	Yes	Kernel-level anti-cheat games won't start
Virtual machine	Needed	Usually the slowest	Yes	Needs lots of memory and disk; most DirectX 12 games don't run
Cloud streaming	Not needed	Depends on your internet	No	Monthly fee, only the games the service offers, some input lag

1. Play the Mac version, if there is one

On Steam, look for the Apple logo next to the price, or a macOS tab under System Requirements. If it's there, you can usually install the Mac version from the same purchase. A Mac version runs best because nothing has to be translated. Many big games skip macOS, though, or arrive years later.

2. Use a translation app

A translation app runs the Windows game itself on macOS. While the game runs, the app turns its Windows requests into macOS ones and its DirectX graphics into Metal, Apple's graphics system. A free translator from Apple turns the game's Intel code into code your Mac's chip understands. Windows itself never runs, so the whole Mac goes to the game.

This is how PC Game Port works. You add the game's .exe or its installer and press Play. It installs the extra Windows software games need and picks the graphics route for each game by itself.

Works well: DirectX 10 and 11 games, which covers most games from the last 15 years; DirectX 12 games through Apple's free add-on (see DirectX 12 on Mac); older DirectX, DirectDraw and OpenGL games; single-player and offline games; the Windows version of Steam.
The limits: games with kernel-level anti-cheat won't start (see anti-cheat on Mac). Translating costs some speed, so a game needs a little more than its listed minimum.

3. Run Windows in a virtual machine

A virtual machine runs a whole copy of Windows inside a window on your Mac. On Apple Silicon that has to be the Arm version of Windows 11, which then translates the game's Intel code a second time. You need a Windows license, and Windows and the game share your Mac's memory, so 16 GB is a practical minimum.

Graphics go through a virtual graphics card, which is the weak spot for games. Many DirectX 11 games run, but most DirectX 12 games don't. A virtual machine makes sense if you also need Windows apps for work. As a way to play games it's usually the slowest of the four.

4. Stream the game from the cloud

Cloud gaming services run the game on a Windows PC in a data center and stream the picture to your Mac. Your Mac's speed hardly matters, and because the game runs on real Windows, anti-cheat works. You pay a monthly fee, you can only play the games the service supports, and you need a fast, steady internet connection. There's always some delay between pressing a key and seeing it on screen, which matters most in fast online games.

Will your Mac be fast enough?

Open the Apple menu → About This Mac to see your chip and memory. Then compare them with the game's system requirements on its store page. Three things matter most:

Memory. A PC has separate memory for the game (RAM) and for graphics (the video card's memory). A Mac has one shared pool. Add the two together, plus about 4 GB for macOS. A game that asks for 8 GB RAM and a 4 GB video card needs about 16 GB on a Mac. That fits a 16 GB Mac, but not an 8 GB one.
Graphics. More GPU cores means faster graphics. The basic M-series chips have 7 to 10 GPU cores, and Pro and Max chips have far more. Newer chip generations are faster per core.
Storage. Big games need 50 to 150 GB. macOS also needs free space to run well.

PC Game Port's Check System Requirements does this for you (how it reads each line). Paste the requirements from the store page and each line gets a tick, a warning or a cross against your Mac. The speed estimates allow for the cost of translating.

What won't run on a Mac

Games with kernel-level anti-cheat, through any of these ways except cloud streaming. Why, and how to check a game.
Games that need a disc or an ISO image. Use the digital version from a store.
VR games that need a Windows PC headset connection.
PC Game Port on an Intel Mac. It needs Apple Silicon. Intel Macs can use Boot Camp instead.

Play a Windows game with PC Game Port

Download it and drag it to Applications. It's free for 14 days, with no card and no account.
Check your game with Tools → Check System Requirements.
Add the game. Pick its setup .exe and PC Game Port installs it, or drag a game folder onto the window.
Press Play. The first launch sets everything up, which takes about a minute.

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