Is it possible to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Mac?
Inspired by a polish fantasy bestseller, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the most recent chapter of the entire series developed by CD Project RED. It is an adventurous RPG videogame played from a third-person perspective. The players are out to go through the story-based gameplay with a professional monster slayer – Geralt of Rivia. Geralt’s goal is to find his adopted daughter – the child of prophecy that carries abilities of unbelievable strength. Explore the world of never-ending battles and story twists that can be affected by players throughout the gameplay. A variety of bosses and captivating dialogues with other characters met along your journey will help you delve into the world of Slavonic mythology. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was out in 2015, and yet it remains one of the most iconic RPG games of all time. Unfortunately, despite it having been a long time since its initial release, Mac is still nowhere to be seen on the list of supported platforms. Although that is dismaying indeed, we are happy to say there is a way to launch it on Mac regardless. To do this, follow our tutorial below.
Play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Mac with Parallels
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt does not require lots of PC resources, and you can play the game on any Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro), where 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 Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 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 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Mac with Boosteroid or Nvidia GeForce Now
Update: Boosteroid and Nvidia GeForce Now support The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to the date and you can play the game on Mac on full settings! Register and explore cloud gaming now!
If you have an old Mac, or it cannot satisfy The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 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 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 Boosteroid and Nvidia GeForce Now. All three services already have The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in their game catalog, and you can play games on any Mac computer (starting from MacOS 10.10) and even Android! Boosteroid and Nvidia support a higher resolution (1080p), but this requires a better internet connection. Nvidia GeForce Now can even stream 4k if the game and your display support it.
Play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Mac with CrossOver
CrossOver is a Microsoft Windows compatibility layer available for Linux, macOS, and ChromeOS, developed by CodeWeavers. It enables many Windows-based applications to run on these operating systems without requiring a Windows license. CrossOver is based on Wine, an open-source Windows compatibility layer, and includes user-friendly configuration tools, automated installation scripts, and technical support. It allows users to run various Windows software, including productivity applications, utility programs, and games, on their non-Windows devices. To play Windows games on your Mac using CrossOver, follow these steps:
- Download and install CrossOver: Visit the CodeWeavers website and download the CrossOver installer. Install the application from the downloaded file.
- Launch CrossOver: Open the CrossOver application on your Mac.
- Install Steam within CrossOver: Open the CrossOver application, search for Steam, and install it. CrossOver will automatically download any required Windows components.
- Launch Steam: Once Steam is installed within CrossOver, open it by double-clicking its icon. A Windows version of Steam will open, allowing you to buy, download, and install any game you want, just as if you were running Steam on a Windows machine.
- Install the game: Find the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in your Steam library, click Install, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.
- Run the game: To start the game in CrossOver, go to its respective bottle, click the game’s icon, and then click Run Command.
Please note that not all Windows games are compatible with CrossOver, even when using Steam. You can check the compatibility of a specific game on the CodeWeavers Compatibility Center.
Play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 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 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Mac 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 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 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)