The notion of playing video games on a Mac is one controversial (and often hilarious) topic. For some, the notion of gaming with MacOS is tantamount to gaming with a calculator. And to those people we say: the future is now, old man. Contrary to popular belief, however, if you are an MMO gamer in possession of a Mac, not all hope is lost.
There are myriad reasons for the existence of Mac-owning gamers. Perhaps their Mac was a freebie or part of a sweet deal. Perhaps they have other priorities for their laptop such as graphic design. Or perhaps their well-meaning tech-savvy friend suggested a Macbook would be preferable for its longevity and reliability, and that ‘you can play most games on them anyway.’ And perhaps those people have decided to write an article about precisely which games one can play on their Mac. Spoiler alert: it’s not ‘most’.
Of course, Boot Camp (among several others) is the catch-all solution to many woes when it comes to MacOS MMOs. Games played through this method may not look as sleek as if they were being run by a top-of-the-range gaming PC. They may turn your laptop into a bonafide hotplate. And they may run more like a serrated knife through leather than a hot knife through butter. But it’s the perfect avenue for the tenacious Mac gamer in need of their fix.
However there are, in fact, some games that MacOS can run capably. And some of our favourite MMOs are among them. Plus, the games in this list don’t just run, but their running shoes are pretty sleek.
Runescape/OSRS
What do Mac users say to the cliché ‘out with the old and in with the new’? We say ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and stick to one of the most tried-and-tested and, to this day, most popular MMOs in existence. Runescape has been kicking around for over 20 years, making it older (and wiser?) than WoW. No matter where you play it, Runescape is a stone cold classic that has been pleasing fans with quality gameplay and consistent updates to this day.
And if you’re looking for an MMORPG that isn’t as demanding and is still pulling in enough players to feel like an engaging and social MMO experience, you can’t really get better than Old School Runescape. In fact, there are more people playing OSRS than its modernised counterpart, probably because it's so accessible. But that extra dose of nostalgia probably helps, as well.
Requirements
Runescape
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Mac 10.8 or higher
Processor: Intel i3+ @ 2.4+ GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon 7xxx +
Storage: 8 GB available space
Old School Runescape (Java Required)
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Processor: Intel i3+/AMD @ 2.4+ GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce 400x, Intel HD 4x, AMD Radeon 7xxx +
Storage: 200 MB available space
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Online is a Mac-wielding Elder Scrolls fan’s saving grace. While every other Elder Scrolls title has left Mac users out in the cold, the indomitable Elder Scrolls Online is like coming home to a warm hearth. The best part is that with its many expansions, the sprawling world of ESO covers just about every province of Tamriel. Take that, Skyrim version 10.0.
And while Mac users are woefully deprived of the sheer beauty on display in Black Desert Online, at least our ‘Most Beautiful MMO’ runner-up can treat us to some environmental eye candy.
Requirements
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: OS X 10.9
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVidia GeForce 460 or AMD Radeon 6850 (1GB of VRAM)
Storage: 85 GB available space
EVE Online
A relatively new recruit among MacOS MMOs, EVE Online developers CCP Games are going to great lengths to extend the cosmic invite to Mac users. The magnanimous team at CCP decided to make the jump after nearly 20 years. And they’ve done such a stellar job that there’s no shortage of the spectacles for which EVE has come to be known.
As of today, EVE’s Mac-owning contingent of Capsuleers number around 5% of their total playerbase. Which might seem trivial, but why turn away a paying customer? After all, if CCP is going to attempt to break any more records they’re going to need as many players as they can possibly get.
Requirements
OS: MacOS X 10.13
Processor: CPU that supports SSE2 (Intel Dual Core @ 2.0 GHz)
Memory: 4 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320m, Intel HD 3000
Storage: 23 GB Free Space
World of Warcraft
There’s a reason (or several) that WoW has enjoyed MMO supremacy for many years. And it wasn’t through excluding an entire demographic of gamers. In fact, you’d be hard pushed to find an MMORPG that runs smoother than WoW on MacOS. Which is probably why it often sits atop many ‘best MMO for Macs’ lists.
Though those heady days may be waning in light of WoW’s slow-motion fall from grace. Sure, Mac gamers may have limited options when it comes to getting their MMO fixes. But with the highest-rated MMOs being just as accessible, they’re practically spoiled for choice. In fact, the presumptive WoW-killer itself stands with wide-open arms. But as Blizzard scrambles to keep its subscribers on board, we can only expect bigger and better things from the MMO king.
Requirements
OS: 10.12 or later
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4670
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M 2 GB or AMD Radeon™ R9 M290 2 GB or Intel® UHD 630 (macOS 10.13 or higher, 45W) Metal capable GPU
Storage: Solid State Drive (SSD) 100GB available space Or Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 100GB available space
Final Fantasy XIV
The fact that the universally-beloved Square Enix MMORPG is readily available to Mac users is music to the ears of many. Its meteoric rise was preceded by a rocky MacOS launch, with Square Enix dishing out refunds to Mac gamers who tried their hand at the Final Fantasy MMO in its earlier days.
Since then, however, the FFXIV Mac version has enjoyed a revamp on par with its rags-to-riches history. At least they’re consistent. Now, Mac gamers can join the swarms of people flocking to the MMOJRPG as it continues to pull in glowing reviews and well-deserved praise.
Requirements
OS: 10.14 or later
Processor: iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)
Memory: 4GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon R9 M295X or higher
Storage: 60GB
The Ones That Got Away (MMOs You Can't Play on a Mac)
For the titles that haven’t made the MacOS MMOs list - including those that were once a part of it but since dropped off due to insurmountable updates - there’s always Boot Camp. But if you’re not keen on the idea of gaming with extra steps, here’s a list of some of the most popular MMOs that you can’t play. Just to let you down easy.
To be fair, as one of the most beautiful MMOs available, things were never looking optimistic for BDO’s MacOS career. Handling graphics like this was never Apple’s strong suit. However, for those that are desperate to jump into the Pearl Abyss flagship title, there’s always the console and mobile versions.
The highly anticipated New World from Amazon Games does not include a MacOS port as of writing. As intrepid gamers the world over set sail for the West, it would seem that poor old Mac has once again been left ashore to take care of the admin. Or, you know, graphic design or something.
A long time ago (in a galaxy not so far away), BioWare had every intention of introducing a SWTOR MacOS port. As the fastest growing MMO ever upon release in 2011, we would have hoped that the dev team would have capitalised on that initial success by following in WoW’s footsteps and opening all avenues. Alas, we have a bad feeling about that now that we’re a decade on.
Despite being overlooked all too often, Guild Wars 2 is one of the highest-rated MMORPGs on the market. And for a long time, it was entirely playable on MacOS. But as of February 2021, ArenaNet made the regrettable announcement that GW2 would be discontinued for Macs. This was down to Apple ending support for the OpenGL graphics technology used by the fantasy MMORPG. What Apple gives with one hand, it takes away with the other, apparently.
The cuboid world of Trove from gamigo and Trion Worlds is known for its graphics, but not in that way. It’s a breeze to run compared to many other MacOS MMOs. But since Apple decided to do away with 32bit application support in favour of 64bit, playing Trove on MacOS was like trying to fit a square peg into an apple-shaped hole.
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Despite all of this, whether or not many MacOS MMOs are a far-flung dream right now, the rumour mill suggests that Apple will become a gaming powerhouse of the future. When it comes to mobile games, for instance, Apple is no layabout.
Also, while new releases like New World and Ashes of Creation have no plans for a Mac port right now, things could easily change. Maybe they’ll pull an EVE Online and create something Mac-worthy in a matter of years.
But while we wait, Mac users can engross themselves with these titles - and be optimistic about the future of gaming on our Apple machines. At least they look pretty cool, right?
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