Is it possible to play DayZ on Mac?
Released in 2018 by Bohemia Interactive, DayZ is a post-apocalypse multiplayer survival shared between 60 players on a mutual server. When it comes to playing DayZ, players are nowhere to rest as there are packs of zombies striving to suck your blood out. The open-world area is saturated with the dangerous silence waiting to bite into the skin just around the corner. Find food supplies, protection, and various weapons to grind your way out of the dangerous world. Choose to team up or fend off other players pursuing the same goal of survival. DayZ has been actively played around the whole globe, yet with no Mac users getting involved. Although Mac is notoriously not a gaming operating system, there are some users that would like to use it for playing video games regardless. Luckily, there is a way to do it via Cloudgaming and other technologies for cross-platform gaming.
System Requirements
| Minimal | Recommended |
|---|---|
| OS: Windows 7/8.1 64-bit | OS: Windows 10 (64-Bit) |
| Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 | Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD R5 1600X |
| RAM: 8 GB | RAM: 12 GB |
| Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD R9 270X | Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD RX 580 |
| DirectX: from 11 version | DirectX: from 11 version |
| Disc space: 16 GB | Disc space: 25 GB |
Play DayZ on Mac with Parallels
DayZ requires lots of PC resources, but you can play the game if you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro), and Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is software for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. It allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. You can run Windows just like on a regular PC, install Steam and enjoy the DayZ game on Mac.
Note: Recommended devices to run resource-demanding games: MacBook Pro (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 Gb of RAM or more), iMac (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 Gb of RAM or more), iMac Pro (all versions are suitable), Mac Pro (all versions are suitable). Parallels on Mac computers with M1 (M1 Pro, M1 Max) chips may not support recent games. Games that require DirectX 12 and later currently not supported by Parallels.
Play DayZ on Mac with cloud gaming services
Update: Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now fully support DayZ to the date and you can play DayZ on Mac on full settings! Register and explore cloud gaming now!
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy DayZ game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming provides you with sufficient cloud resources for a fixed fee. All you need is a browser or a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 Mbits/s. There are several great services, that provide such an opportunity, among the best are Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia GeForce Now, Boosteroid, AirGPU. Among these services, Boosteroid, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now have DayZ in their game catalog, and you can play on any Mac computer (starting from MacOS 10.10) and even Android!
Play DayZ on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run DayZ on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all system requirements above, this is probably the best way to play DayZ for now. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. BootCamp 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 switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, that uses common processors, RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on Mac by allocating disc space of a minimum of 64 Gb (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games). To set up Windows via BootCamp, please, do the following:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 or later
Mention, that for MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create bootable Windows USB.
- Download Windows ISO file
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities)
- Define the Windows partition size, choose downloaded Windows ISO file
- Format 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)