Is it possible to play BeamNG.drive on Mac?
BeamNG.drive is an auto-driving simulator capable of bringing your limitless imagination to reality. This is where you will get to experience a huge community-based workshop, a broad range of game-changing mods, and even more, making this game a true sandbox driving masterpiece – just like Minecraft but in the vehicle world. You are given full freedom to let your mind go wild – feel free to go beyond standard car racing and delve into exploring and conquering each dime of the land across 12 maps already in stock. Even more fun would be to gather with friends and experiment with your car in different self-made scenarios on custom testing fields until your fascination exhausts, be it about crashing your car into pieces or trying to get over challenging obstacles. BeamNG.drive brings a number of different and thoroughly-designed vehicles open to be modified however you like – wheels, suspension, engines, and other car parts. One big feature making BeamNG.drive so realistic is its real-time and structural soft-body physics allowing to simulate the realistic weight and mass of the vehicles – just as if you were racing in the real-life world. The game has been in continuous development since its very first release in 2013 and is officially out only for Windows. Despite this, we know how to help aspired macOS users to play it on their Apple machines regardless. Just read our guide below where we show how to do this!
Play BeamNG.drive on Mac with Parallels
BeamNG.drive requires lots of PC resources, but if you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is an application that allows for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. In simpler terms, what this means is that it allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with just a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. So you will be able to run Windows, install Steam, and enjoy the BeamNG.drive game on Mac just like on a regular PC.
Please note that not all games are supported by Parallels. Several conditions must be met for the game to be playable. Your Mac must exceed minimum system requirements for the game; meeting them is not enough. Generally speaking, you will need an iMac Pro or a Mac Pro to run demanding games. Some MacBook Pro and iMac models are also suitable; they must have an Intel processor, a discrete graphics card and at least 16 GB of RAM. If your Mac has an Apple Silicon chip (such as M1, M2, M3), you may experience issues playing modern games. Games that require DirectX 12 are currently not supported by Parallels. AppsOnMac recommends using Parallels’ free trial feature to determine whether you can run the game or not if you’re uncertain.
Play BeamNG.drive on Mac with cloud gaming services
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy the BeamNG.drive game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming services will be happy to provide you with sufficient computing power – though not for free, of course. All you need is a browser or a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 MBit/s. There are several great platforms that provide these services, among the best are Boosteroid, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and NVidia GeForce NOW. As NVidia GeForce NOW has BeamNG.drive in its game library, it is an excellent choice for those seeking to try the game out.
Play BeamNG.drive on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run BeamNG.drive on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play BeamNG.drive on Mac by installing Windows. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. This is an application that allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you want to switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, in the end. And while newer Macs have their own special Apple Silicon chips that cannot run Windows, older Macs are very much similar to computers that run Windows, they have Intel processors, compatible RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on an older Mac by allocating no less than 64 GB of disk space (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games) and following these steps:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 and older
For MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create a bootable Windows USB.
- Download this Windows ISO file.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities).
- Define the Windows partition size and choose the Windows ISO file you’ve downloaded.
- Format the Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps.
- When Windows boots for the first time follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)