5 Ways To Play Xbox Games On a Mac

If you want to play Microsoft Xbox games on your Mac here we’ve looked at the best ways to do so in 2024 including on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

In our extensive testing and research, we found that by far the best method of playing Xbox console games on Macs is by using Xbox Cloud with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate which allows you to play Xbox games in a browser on a Mac.

It also allows you to use PC Game Pass on a Mac as it covers the same library of games.

Many major games that aren’t available for Macs such as Fortnite, Starfield and FIFA are available in Xbox Cloud with Game Pass Ultimate.

If the game you want to to play is not available in Xbox Cloud but is available to download on Xbox, then you have other options to play them on a Mac although as we will show you, they are more complex and time consuming.

1. Xbox Cloud Gaming

Xbox Cloud (also known as Xbox Cloud Gaming) is Microsoft’s online Cloud gaming service which allows you to access Xbox games in a browser on a Mac as long as you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

This enables you to access PC Game Pass games on a Mac too as it’s covers pretty much the same library of games.

You don’t need an Xbox to use Xbox Cloud but you do need a Microsoft Xbox account and ideally an Xbox Controller too although you can also use your Mac keyboard.

Xbox Cloud also only works in the Microsoft Edge, Chrome and Safari browsers – it does not support Firefox.

We recommend using Safari on a Mac to play games in Xbox Cloud for the best performance although we’ve had absolutely no problems playing in Chrome too.

If you don’t have an Xbox controller and use Google Chrome, you can also install the Keyboard & Mouse Controller add-on which allows you to use Xbox Cloud without an Xbox controller in Chrome.

You will need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to use Xbox Cloud and not all Xbox games are available on it so you must check which games are available in Xbox Cloud here before subscribing.

Note that Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – it is not available with the PC Game Pass subscription.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate currently costs $16.99 per month but you can cancel at anytime and there’s an introductory offer of just $1 for the first 14 days.

Usually, all Xbox are available in Xbox Cloud but some are not such as Hogwarts Legacy which can only be purchased as a standalone version that you must download on an Xbox or Windows PC.

Follow these instructions to get started:

• If you don’t already have one sign-up for an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Note that Xbox Cloud is only available with Game Pass Ultimate so it’s important you don’t select just the PC Plan.

• Go to Xbox.com/play.
• Click on Sign In at the top of the page and login with your Xbox username and password.
• Search for a game in the Xbox Cloud Gaming search bar (such as Fortnite in this example) and click on the green “Play” button.

• You will then be prompted to connect an Xbox controller to your Mac via Bluetooth. Although you can play the games without a controller, we really recommend using one with Xbox Cloud as the games are designed to be played with one.

• To use your Xbox Controller with your Mac make sure that Bluetooth is turned on on your Mac. Then press and hold the Xbox button on your controller to turn it on and it will light-up. Press and hold the small Bluetooth pairing button on the front of the Xbox controller to activate pairing mode. When pairing mode has been activated, the Xbox button will start flashing rapidly. On your Mac, click on the Apple logo in the top left of your screen and go to System Preferences and select Bluetooth.

• Select your Xbox controller from the list of Bluetooth devices that appears and click Pair.

You can now use your Xbox controller with your Mac. You can disconnect the Xbox controller from your Mac at any time by going back into the Bluetooth settings or turning-off Bluetooth.

You can also use the Controlly app if you want to have more control over how your Xbox controller works with your Mac.

Your Xbox game will then launch in Xbox Cloud.

At busy times, there may be a queue and it will tell you how long the estimated wait time is.

You can then play the game on your Mac in Xbox Cloud with your Xbox controller.

The only limitation of Xbox Cloud gaming is that Game Pass games are limited to 30 frames per second (30fps) and 1024p resolution so the graphic quality isn’t as good as playing it on PC or an Xbox.

You can check out our full Xbox Cloud Gaming review for more.

2. GeForce Now For Mac

One of the most exciting announcements in recent times for Mac users was the news that Microsoft has partnered with NVIDIA’s GeForce Now to bring PC Game Pass Games to Mac via GeForce Now For Mac.

With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, not all PC Game Pass games are available to Mac users. Microsoft has confirmed that “select PC games from the library” will be available via GeForce Now For Mac.

However, the new deal means that PC Game Pass Games will also be playable on a Mac via GeForce Now.

GeForce Now For Mac offers the incredibly powerful NVIDIA GTX 4080 graphics card hosted in the Cloud so that Mac users effectively get the benefit of a high end gaming PC.

In fact, the GTX 4080 is so powerful that you may well find you get better performance and less latency playing Xbox games on GeForce Now than on Microsoft’s own Xbox Cloud Gaming service.

This move by Microsoft is understood to be part of the company’s overall strategy to pacify regulators due to the ongoing takeover bid of game developer Activision Blizzard.

Tantalizingly for Mac users, if the deal went through then it would mean massive Blizzard games like Diablo 4 could be playable on a Mac via GeForce Now.

You can read more on the Xbox GeForce Now deal here.

3. Parallels

If the game you want to play is not available in Xbox Game Pass then the best other option you have is to install Windows on your Mac using Parallels and download the Xbox version of the game with the Xbox Windows app.

Parallels is the easiest way to run Windows on a Mac and the latest version of Parallels 19 supports the Windows Xbox app in the Windows store which gives you access to Xbox Cloud games in Windows.

You will also need an Xbox Game Pass for $16.99 per month.

You can also connect an Xbox controller to your Mac via Bluetooth.

Installing Windows on your Mac also opens up a whole world of other advantages allowing you to install PC only apps and games on macOS.

Note that although this method works well on Intel Macs, it currently does not work well with Apple Silicon M1, M2 and M3 Macs.

The main reason for this is that Apple Silicon Macs can only run the ARM version of Windows which does not work with many games.

There are also problems pairing an Xbox controller via Bluetooth in Parallels which doesn’t work on Apple Silicon Macs yet.

Therefore if you want play games which are not available in Xbox Cloud on an Apple Silicon Mac then your options are very limited unless you already own an Xbox in which case you cam stream them to your Apple Silicon Mac using OneCast (see below).

Finally, note that if the Xbox game you want to play requires DirectX 12 then it will not work in Parallels on any Mac including Intel, M1, M2 and M3 Macs.

Parallels only supports up to DirectX 11 so make sure you check the game’s system requirements before downloading it in the Windows Xbox app.

You can try Parallels for free to install Windows on your Mac and download Xbox games that aren’t available in Xbox Cloud.

You can also find out more in our full review of Parallels.

4. OneCast

If you own an Xbox, then OneCast allows you to stream Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X games to macOS in 1080p including Apple Silicon Macs.

As long as your Xbox and Mac are connected to the same WiFi router or on the same network, OneCast streams Xbox games to your Mac.

OneCast can even stream Xbox games to your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

Whereas Xbox Cloud streams games to your Mac via the internet, OneCast streams them to your Mac via your router’s WiFi which is usually faster and more stable than gaming via the Cloud.

Unlike Xbox Cloud however, you must have an Xbox in order to use it.

OneCast previously only worked with the Xbox One but has now been updated to work with Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.

OneCast also allows you to connect an Xbox controller to a Mac (and other controllers such as DualShock 4) via Bluetooth or USB with support for haptic feedback vibration too including with Apple Silicon Macs.

OneCast is extremely easy to setup, there’s almost no lag when playing and you can setup multiple profiles for multiple Xboxes.

The app also allows you to use Xbox controllers via Bluetooth or USB on a Mac without any 3rd party drivers either so it’s very simple to setup.

You can also use other controllers with a similar layout with OneCast such as the DualShock 4 controller.

You can try OneCast for free although after 14 days it costs $14.99 to buy a license key for the full version.

Here’s how to set it up on a Mac.

• Before starting, make sure that your Mac and Xbox are connected to the same WiFi internet router. Then download the trial version of OneCast for free and open the DMG file downloaded. Note that you have to download it from the OneCast website as it’s not available on the Mac App Store.

• Drag the OneCast app to your Applications folder.

• Click on the OneCast icon in your dock to launch it.

• OneCast will then automatically detect your Xbox on your home network as long as your Xbox and Mac are connected to the same WiFi router. OneCast will prompt you to login into your Xbox with your Microsoft account details. Just use the same username and password that you use to log onto your Xbox.
• Finally you simply need to connect your Xbox controller to your Mac which you can do by activating Bluetooth. To connect an Xbox controller to your Mac to use with OneCast, go to the Apple logo in the top left of your screen and go to System Preferences and select Bluetooth.

• Select your Xbox controller from the list of Bluetooth devices that appears and click Pair.

• You can now use the Xbox controller with your Mac. You can disconnect the Xbox controller from your Mac at any time by going back into the Bluetooth settings or turning-off Bluetooth.

This is the easiest way to connect an Xbox controller to a Mac although it doesn’t allow you to map out controls on it very easily.

For more customization of how your Xbox controller works with your Mac, you can use the free app Controlly which allows you to easily connect a Playstation or XBox controller to your Mac.

Controlly allows you to easily map out controls and can even be used to control your Trackpad cursor and even launch apps.

You can stream your Xbox games on your Mac using OneCast in either windowed mode or full screen mode.

You can even connect your Mac to your Xbox away from home too although this requires a few simple manual network configuration changes which are explained in the OneCast user manual.

Although there is some lag at times, most games run pretty smoothly in 1080p using OneCast and it’s generally very impressive.

If you find that lag becomes a problem, you can try changing the video quality when you launch OneCast from “Very High” to “High”, “Medium” or “Low”.

It is also a good idea to shut down all other applications while using OneCast as it’s quite GPU intensive and your Macs cooling vents will kick in pretty quickly if you’ve got lots of other applications open.

Note that OneCast does not support a microphone for voice and in-game chat although this is planned to be added soon.

5. Xbox-xCloud-Client

Xbox-xCloud-Client is an open source project that supports Remote Play and allows you to stream XBox games via xCloud and xHome.

The app uses Javascript and Typescript and streams both audio and video from Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X consoles.

Xbox-xCloud-Client works on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and also supports gamepad controllers, keyboard controllers and building friend lists.

However, because it’s open source there’s no official support for the product and installation isn’t as straightforward as with OneCast and Parallels.

You can find out more about the Xbox-xCloud-Client here.

Is There An Xbox App For Mac?

There is no Xbox app from Macs from Microsoft. The only Xbox app that exists is for Windows.

Can You Play Xbox Games Without a Controller?

You can play most Xbox games with a keyboard only but we don’t recommend it. Xbox games are designed to be played with an Xbox controller and the experience without one is not the same.

If you play games in Xbox Cloud using the Google Chrome browser however, you can also install the Keyboard & Mouse Controller add-on which makes it easier to play games on a Mac without a controller.

Does Xbox VR Work On Mac?

You can’t play Xbox VR games on a Mac.

VR on a Mac is still virtually non-existent and even Steam has dropped support for VR gaming on Mac due to the lack of VR headset and game support for macOS.

However, this may change in 2023 with Apple set to release the Vision Pro headset which should open up VR gaming on Macs.