Elden Ring is an action RPG that impresses with its expansive world and intricate gameplay, yet it’s not directly accessible for Mac users. Undeterred by this limitation, we decided to find alternative pathways to bring this epic adventure to macOS. Our research led us to both, cloud gaming platforms and local gaming methods, each promising a unique way to experience the rich landscapes and intense battles of Elden Ring on Mac. In the following sections, we’ll explain the methods we tested, provide step-by-step instructions, and share our firsthand experience, with the idea to guide fellow Mac gamers in their quest to traverse the lands between.
Elden Ring Mac Methods That We Tried
If you’re excited to start playing on your Apple computer right away, we’ve got you covered! We’ve listed all the Elden Ring Mac methods that we know work smoothly, so you don’t have to wait any longer.
Boosteroid is an independent cloud gaming platform that integrates all major vendors to its service and excels in adding support for the latest titles before other platforms. Read our review on Boosteroid. Look at our Boosteroid list of games.
Our top pick: We suggest trying Boosteroid if you’re a Mac user looking for a hassle-free experience and good performance. It’s easy to set up, and it consistently maintains a smooth 60 frames per second (FPS) even when playing modern games. Plus, it won’t make your Mac overheat, and you won’t need a ton of storage space.
Features: Constant 1080p/60 FPS; Stable connection; Low bandwidth requirements (15 MBPS); Huge gaming library with all the latest AAA titles
CrossOver is like a helpful middleman that allows Windows apps to work smoothly on your Mac by translating their code. It’s easy to use with a quick setup, but the gaming experience can vary depending on the game. Keep in mind that emulated games might not perform as well as those made specifically for Mac. However, CrossOver really shines on powerful Apple Silicon machines, especially those with M1 Pro or higher, ensuring a smoother gaming experience.
CrossOver and Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit: Recently, CrossOver integrated the Game Porting Toolkit, making it the top choice for downloading and playing DirectX 12 games on Apple Silicon Macs. So, if you want to play games on your powerful Mac, CrossOver is a great option!
Features:
- Makes it possible for Windows software to operate on macOS by converting their code.
- Has an intuitive interface, simplifying the process of getting Windows software up and running on your Mac.
- To achieve a smoother gaming experience, CrossOver is most suitable for users with an M1 Pro processor or higher.
Boot Camp Assistant is a handy app that comes already installed on certain Macs with Intel chips. It helps you set up a section on your Mac’s storage just for Windows 10. When you start your Mac from that section, it works just like a regular Windows PC, and you can use any software that’s made for Windows.
Note: Not available for Apple Silicon models.
Features:
- Provides native Windows 10 experience.
- Allows running all Windows-compatible programs and games as long as the Mac’s hardware can support them.
Can you play Elden Ring on Mac With Cloud Gaming?
Initially, we were a bit skeptical about cloud gaming’s ability to handle a demanding game like Elden Ring on Mac. But our testing with Boosteroid changed our perspective. We discovered that this cloud gaming service is a strong option for playing graphically intensive games like Elden Ring on Apple devices that works by streaming the game directly to your device, bypassing any limitations related to your system’s hardware.
Our Boosteroid plan allowed us to stream Elden Ring at a 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. To enjoy this level of quality, a good internet connection is crucial, but Boosteroid’s requirements are quite manageable – a 15 Mbps internet speed and latency below 40 ms should be enough for a smooth experience.
During our time playing Elden Ring on Mac, we used a Wi-Fi connection with 25 Mbps speed and about 40 ms latency. To our surprise, the game ran quite well on our MacBook Pro M1. There were a few moments of lag that caused brief drops in resolution and some stuttering, but the stream quickly bounced back, which allowed us to keep playing without major disruptions. Besides, such lags are less significant for a single-player experience like Elden Ring and didn’t detract from our overall enjoyment of the game.
Our Elden Ring macOS experience with Boot Camp
Having an Elden Ring macOS experience is also doable with Boot Camp, a method where you install Windows on your Mac by setting up a separate area (partition) on your Mac where Windows runs. There, you can run Windows games like Elden Ring, but here’s the thing – it only works on Macs with Intel chips, not the newer Apple Silicon models.
The major hurdle here is that most Intel-based Macs don’t come with strong graphics cards (GPUs), and Elden Ring needs a lot of graphical power to run well. So, only a few Macs, like maybe the iMac Pro or Mac Pro, could run Elden Ring for Mac decently. We tried it on a 2018 MacBook Pro with 16 GB of RAM and Elden Ring did not start because Intel MacBooks have weak graphics cards and can’t run games with such graphics, even at low frames per second (FPS). So, unless you have a really powerful desktop Mac, Boot Camp might not be the best way to play Elden Ring.
If you’re one of the few with a high-end Intel-based Mac, then Boot Camp could work for you. It tends to be more stable and less buggy than other methods, so you’re less likely to run into problems starting or playing the game (unless the game itself has issues). However, setting up Boot Camp is a pretty big project – it can take several hours, and you need a lot of free space (about 150 GB) for both Windows and Elden Ring.
Our Elden Ring Mac M1 Experience With Crossover+GPTK
For those interested in having an Elden Ring Mac M1 experience, you might consider using Crossover with the Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK), as it allows you to run DirectX 12 games like this one. In our tests, this method offered a smooth performance with no issues on a MacBook Pro M1. We set the game to low graphics settings and managed to get around 30 FPS, which was not ideal but still a playable experience. However, when we bumped the settings up to medium, the frame rate dropped, leading us to stick with the lower settings for a smoother gameplay experience.
In summary, playing Elden Ring for Mac using Crossover combined with GPTK is definitely possible, though it comes with its own set of challenges and quirks. If you’re up for a bit of technical setup, this method can provide you with a good gaming experience, especially if you’re willing to play with lower graphics settings. Just keep in mind the potential for bugs and the need for occasional fixes.
Conclusion on Elden Ring for Mac
Despite Elden Ring’s graphical demands, we’ve found that it’s indeed playable on a Mac, with three methods that cater to different types of users. To sum it up, cloud gaming emerges as the most flexible and user-friendly option as it’s great for all Mac users, no matter what model they have. This is because the game runs on an external server, so your Mac’s capabilities aren’t a big factor.
For those with the latest high-end Apple Silicon Macs, the combination of CrossOver and the Game Porting Toolkit is a pretty solid choice. However, if you have a basic M1 or M2 Mac, or an older Intel-based Mac, this method might not give you the best gaming experience.
Boot Camp is another option, but it’s really only suitable if you have a powerful Mac desktop, like a high-end iMac or Mac Pro. This is because Boot Camp allows you to run Windows on your Mac, and you need a strong machine to handle Elden Ring’s intense graphics and gameplay.
As for a native version of Elden Ring for Mac, there’s no indication that it will be released, but Mac users still have options. You can play Elden Ring on your Mac through cloud gaming services, using tools like CrossOver, or setting up Boot Camp for a more direct Windows experience on your machine.
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