Genshin Impact still isn’t available for macOS in 2025 – there is no native Mac port – but there are still reliable ways to play it on a Mac.
Genshin Impact is a free open-world action RPG by miHoYo / HoYoverse featuring a large open world, elemental combat, co-op, seasonal events and continual updates.
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Which Methods Still Work in 2025?
In 2025 the only stable methods are:
| Method | Apple Silicon Macs | Intel Macs | Free option available? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce Now (where available in your region) | ✅ | ✅ | Limited free tier |
| Boosteroid Cloud Gaming | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ no free trial |
| Boot Camp Windows install (Intel only) | ❌ (not supported) | ✅ | Windows license cost applies if you need a license |
Of all these methods, we recommend using GeForce Now because it’s free for limited gameplay and it works on both Intel and the latest Apple Silicon Macs.
Virtual machines like Parallels still do not work – Genshin’s anti-cheat rejects VM environments (just like Riot Vanguard). So UTM, Parallels, Fusion etc. are not valid options in 2025.
Here then are the best ways to play Genshin Impact on a Mac in 2025.
1. GeForce Now
GeForce Now is a gaming platform by NVIDIA which streams games to your Mac over the Cloud.
Genshin Impact was released on GeForce Now in August 2022 and allows you to play the full Windows version of Genshin Impact on a Mac. However, the availability of the game varies by region so if you can’t see it in GeForce Now in your region, you won’t be able to play it.
You could try using a VPN on your Mac to unblock it in your region but we can’t guarantee this would work.
Since everything is streamed over the Cloud, GeForce Now works on any Mac made after 2009 so it even allows you to play Genshin Impact on older Macs.
This also means you can play Genshin Impact on both Intel Mac and Apple Silicon M series Macs.
Even better, GeForce Now is free for one hour of gameplay, although if you want to play longer, you need to pay for a GeForce Now subscription.
GeForce Now is available in most major regions including the USA, Europe, Japan, Russia and Australia although it is not available worldwide.
To play Genshin Impact using GeForce Now just follow these instructions:
- Download GeForce Now for Mac and install it on your Mac.
- Install GeForce Now on your Mac. If you see a warning “NVIDIA GeForce Now” is an app downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?” click on Open.
- Drag and drop the GeForce Now app into your Applications folder.
- Launch the GeForce Now app and select Genshin Impact to add it to your library of games.
If you don’t want to install the Geforce Now app or have problems installing it on your Mac, you can also play Genshin Impact in the Chrome web browser using GeForce Now.
Note that other browsers such as Firefox and Safari are not supported by GeForce Now though.
GeForce Now is free for 1 hour of gameplay so you can test Genshin Impact for free first although you may have to wait up to an hour for a free slot first.
To skip the queue and for more than one hour’s gameplay you need to click on Upgrade or Join Now in the top right of the screen.
GeForce Now costs $9.99 per month for up to 6 hours per session and $19.99 for up to 8 hours gameplay per session.
The $19.99 RTX 3080 subscription also includes faster servers and support for 4K resolution with up to 120 Frames Per Second (FPS).
Note that for this subscription GeForce Now recommends:
- macOS version 10.11 or higher (though newer sources recommend 10.15 +).
- A Mac introduced in 2009 or later.
Internet connection:
- At least 15 Mbps for 720p at 60 fps
- At least 25 Mbps for 1080p at 60 fps
Recommended: a wired Ethernet connection or a 5GHz WiFi.
You can find a full FAQ about playing Genshin Impact on GeForce Now here.
You can also read out full review of GeForce Now For Mac here.
2. Boosteroid
Boosteroid is a Cloud gaming service that also allows you to play Genshin Impact on a Mac.
Like GeForce Now, Boosteroid works on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
Unlike GeForce Now though, there’s no free version of Boosteroid and no free trial but subscriptions start at around $10 a month. However, Genshin Impact is available worldwide on it so there are no regional catalog restrictions like with GeForce Now.
Here’s how to play Genshin Impact with Boosteroid.
- Sign-up for a Boosteroid subscription. You can either pay annually or monthly but if you pay monthly you can cancel at any time although it works out slightly more expensive.
- Download and install the Boosteroid for Mac desktop app.
- When the Boosteroid app is open, in the top right of the screen search for “Genshin Impact”.
- On the Genshin Impact game page click on Play and when the Genshin Impact launcher opens click Launch.
- You will then be prompted to create a Genshin Impact account within Boosteroid. An activation email will be sent to your email address which you must click on to activate.
You can then play Genshin Impact in Boosteroid.
Note that the maximum resolution you can play games on Boosteroid is 1080p so the quality won’t be as good as playing Genshin Impact natively on a PC or console.
3. Boot Camp (Intel Macs Only)
Boot Camp is a free tool in macOS which allows you to install Windows for free on a separate partition of the your Mac hard drive.
However, it only works on Intel Macs – Boot Camp is not available in the latest Apple Silicon Macs.
Boot Camp enables you to boot your Intel Mac in either Windows or macOS whenever you want.
It also allows your Mac to dedicate all of its resources to running highly demanding games like Genshin Impact for smoother gameplay than other ways of running Windows on a Mac.
To play Genshin Impact on your Mac using Boot Camp, follow these instructions to install Windows for free on a Mac.
When you’ve installed Windows on your Mac, you then simply download the Windows Genshin Impact launcher to start the game.
Can You Use Bluestacks Android Emulator To Play Genshin Impact?
Before the release of Genshin Impact on GeForce Now, we recommended using the Bluestacks Android emulator to play Genshin Impact on a Mac.
However, Bluestacks only allows you to play the mobile Android version of Genshin Impact which isn’t very playable due to the poor resolution, graphics and touch screen controls in the mobile version.
Can You Play Genshin Impact with PlayCover?
PlayCover allows you to “sideload” iOS apps into macOS and is free to use.
However, the main problem you will find is finding an unencrypted IPA file for Genshin Impact which you need to upload to PlayCover.
For more on this, check out our PlayCover review.