Is it possible to play Hogwarts Legacy on Mac?
Hogwarts Legacy is an action role-playing game set in the Wizarding Universe of Harry Potter. Delving into the events before the Harry Potter books and movies, players will get to create their own character and embark on a captivating journey through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and explore a rich and immersive open world surrounding it. Throughout adventure, you will have to master a variety of spells and potions and customize your abilities to participate in fast-paced battles against magical creatures and enemies – all of it coming along with stunning graphics and attention to detail. Building relationships with other characters and making your own choices is something that will affect the game’s progression and determine your character’s ultimate legacy. Apart from progressing through the main plot, players will also be able to take part in numerous side quests and activities, which include duels, potion-making, and unique magical creature encounters. Hogwarts Legacy is thus a game putting its players into the realms of magic and wizardry inspired by the iconic and all-time favorite Harry Potter world. With its open-world environment, deep magic system, and engaging storyline, this game is sure to capture the hearts of not only true fans around the world. Although it has been made available only for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Windows platforms, there are non-official ways how to launch and play it on Mac as well – at exactly the same gaming experience. Find out how in our guide below!
Play Hogwarts Legacy on Mac with Parallels
Hogwarts Legacy is not a demanding game, so 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 (or Epic Games Store), and enjoy the Hogwarts Legacy 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 Hogwarts Legacy on Mac with Boosteroid
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy the Hogwarts Legacy 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 Boosteroid has Hogwarts Legacy in its game library, it is an excellent choice for those seeking to try the game out. On Boosteroid you can play Hogwarts Legacy via Steam or Epic account.
Play Hogwarts Legacy 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 Hogwarts Legacy on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play Hogwarts Legacy 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)