How to Play CSGO on Mac – Time to Play!

While most players will experience CSGO on Windows, many players still choose to play CSGO on Mac. The game’s servers are shared between the operating systems, so luckily player bases are shared as opposed to separate.

The game is still receiving updates on the Mac version to this day, which can’t be said for every game on the platform. Players even got the most recent Operation, Operation Riptide, on the Mac version, and it’s presumed that this support will continue for the length of CSGO’s lifespan.

We’re going to be answering the question once and for all – can you play CSGO on Mac?

Image source: Mac Gamer HQ

Playing CSGO on Mac

CSGO on Mac is still possible due to the low system requirements of the game. As frame rate remains an important part of the game, you won’t find many Macs in competitive CSGO. Despite this, the game runs reasonably well on most Macs from the last decade. You can check if your Mac can run the game from the minimum system requirements below.

If you have trouble with your CSGO performance, make sure that you tweak the graphics settings to ensure you have a smooth gameplay experience. Many players will just use the default settings, but these aren’t always best for your Mac. A lot of Macs have an extremely high native resolution, and can really struggle to render games at such large detail. If you’re struggling with your frame rate, the resolution would be the first setting to look at on Mac.

The CSGO Mac version runs natively, meaning you won’t have to run a virtual machine such as Parallels to get the game working. However, some players may experience a common bug launching the game on Mac. In this glitch, the game simply won’t work. If you experience this, follow these steps:

• Enter the game’s ‘Properties’ menu on Steam.
• Under ‘Launch Commands’, enter the following command: “-w 800 -h 600 -refresh 60”.
• The game should now launch as normal. If the resolution looks strange, you can change this in the game’s Settings menu.

For other options that might help the performance of CSGO on Mac, you should seek out the best CSGO launch options. These can massively improve your gaming experience and avoid a lot of frustration for yourself.

It’s true – it’s absolutely possible to run CSGO on a Mac. We wouldn’t fully recommend it, but if it’s out of necessity, it’s certainly playable.