Developed by Piranha Games, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a first-person robot action game set in the BattleTech universe where players are to control customizable robots called BattleMechs. The game is based on a single-player campaign tasking players with various missions and contracts to complete and earn money for upgrading their Mecha giant robots. You will be able to choose from a wide range of weapons and equipment to adjust the chosen Mech to your play style and venture into a furious battleground against other mechs. Get ready to delve into an intense and fast-paced robotic meat-grinder with immersive sound effects and futuristic graphics alone or together with other players in co-op with up to 4 players. Yes, you read that right! In this game, you can also bring friends along your side and engage in fascinating and epic battles together. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is indeed a thrilling and satisfying addition to the MechWarrior franchise, offering players unique and top-notch clashing experiences in a mechanized world from the future. And although it is not officially there for macOS users, this guide will show you how to ignore this snug and play it on Mac regardless!
Play MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries on Mac with Parallels
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 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 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 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 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries on Mac with cloud gaming services
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy the MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 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.
Play MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 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 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 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)