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overwatch 2 mac - cover

How To Play Overwatch 2 On Mac For Free (inc. M1, M2 & M3 Macs)

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Although Overwatch 2 has not been released for Mac, here we show you some different ways to play Overwatch 2 on Mac, including free options.

Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play, team-based action game where you fight to the death in 5v5 battlefield brawls.

You can team up with friends and play a range of different heroes including a time-travelling freedom fighter, a battlefield DJ or 30 other heroes as you fight others across the globe.

Activision Blizzard replaced Overwatch with Overwatch 2 on the 4th of October 2022 so the first Overwatch (which also wasn’t available for Mac) is no longer available on any platform.

Is Overwatch 2 Available For Mac?

There is no version of Overwatch 2 for Mac available from the developer Blizzard.

Although there were high hopes for a Mac version this time round after the original Overwatch also wasn’t released for Mac, Blizzard did not release a Mac version of Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 is only available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Since August 2023, Overwatch 2 is also available on Steam.

Note that there are no Cloud gaming services such as GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud that allow you to play Overwatch 2 as Activision Blizzard does not license its games to be played on Cloud gaming platforms.

How To Play Overwatch 2 on a Mac

With this in mind, here are three ways to play Overwatch 2 on a Mac in order of ranking.

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1. Crossover

overwatch 2 on mac with crossover

Now that Overwatch 2 is available on Steam, by far the easiest way to play Overwatch 2 on a Mac is with Crossover.

Crossover allows Mac users to play Windows only games without installing Windows on a Mac.

Crossover is an emulation layer that allows you to run Windows only app and games on a Mac without actually having to install Windows itself.

Crossover can also run the Windows version of Steam meaning you can play the Steam Windows version of Overwatch 2 on a Mac.

It can also run the Windows version of Battle.net so you can choose whether to play it via Steam or Battle.net.

Crossover works on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs so it’s also the best way to play Overwatch 2 on M1, M2 and M3 Macs.

Previous to Crossover version 23.5, Crossover required the CXPatcher mod to make it run Overwatch 2 but the latest version is based on the Apple Game Porting Toolkit meaning this is longer necessary and Crossover runs Overwatch 2 “out of the box”.

You can try Crossover free for 14 days but after that you’ll need a subscription starting at $74.

Follow these instructions to play the Overwatch 2 on a Mac with Crossover.

overwatch 2 steam

  • Download the free trial of Crossover for Mac.
  • Install Crossover on your Mac by double clicking on the Zip file that downloads and then drag the Crossover application to your Applications folder.
  • Click on “Try Now” to start the 14 day free trial unless you’ve already purchased a Crossover license.

install crossover trial mac

  • You then need to connect Steam to Crossover. To do this, search for “Steam” in Crossover.

link steam to crossover mac

  • Crossover will then connect with Steam. Once this is done, you need to activate DXVK (which is the Vulkan backend for D3D 11) and ESync to make sure that Overwatch 2 plays smoothly in Crossover. To enable DXVK and Esync in Crossover, select “Steam” under “Bottles” on the left in Crossover.

crossover steam enable dxvk

  • Select the Advanced Options on the right and click the slider to on for both DXVK and ESync.

dxvk enabled crossover steam

  • Double click on Steam to launch it and login into your Steam account. Go to your Steam Library where you will see Overwatch 2 from when you purchased it earlier. Click on the big blue “Install” button to install it on your Mac. You can now play Overwatch 2 in Steam on your Mac!

playing overwatch 2 on a mac

If you have problems with Overwatch 2 crashing in Crossover on your Mac, then try adjusting some of the game settings.

We recommend the following settings for best performance:

  • Set the Video settings to “Full screen” or “Windowed mode”
  • Set most of the Advanced Video settings set to “Medium” or “Low”

2. Whisky

Whisky is a free open source tool that’s based on the same technology as Crossover but doesn’t require a subscription to use.

Like Crossover, Whisky is based on the Apple Game Porting Toolkit but its not as stable as Crossover and doesn’t support as many games but it is free to use and easy to setup.

With Whisky, you can play the Steam PC version of Overwatch 2 on a Mac although unlike Crossover, it doesn’t work with Battle.net.

To play Overwatch 2 on a Mac using Whisky just follow these instructions:

  • Download the latest release of Whisky for Mac. You need to download the Whisky.zip file.

whisky for mac download

  • Double click on the ZIP file to unzip it and then drag Whisky to your Applications folder and double click on it to run it. If you receive the message:

“Whisky.app” can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software. This software needs to be updated. Contact the developer for more information.

whisky app warning macos

Click on “Open” to run it. The reason for this message is that, because Whisky has not been downloaded via the Mac App Store, macOS Gatekeeper is warning you that it has not been signed by Apple but it does not mean that Whisky is unsafe to use.

  • When Whisky opens, you simply follow the on-screen instructions to set it up. Whisky will automatically install Rosetta, Wine and the Apple Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK) on your Mac which are all the tools that Whisky requires to work.

whisky download wine

  • When all of these are installed, Click on “Next” to continue.

whisky setup mac - rosetta, wine, gptk

  • You then need to click on the “+” button in the top right corner to create a new bottle for Steam in Whisky. Bottles are self contained environments that you need to create for every Windows game or app you want to install. Select “Windows 10” which offers the widest compatibility with games on Steam including Overwatch 2. Once you’ve created a bottle for Steam, it works for any games you install with Steam – you don’t need to keep creating a bottle for each separate game.

create new bottle whisky

  • Click on the “Run” button in the bottom right corner to configure the bottle for Steam.

run bottle whisky

  • Next you need to download the Steam.exe client which is the Windows desktop version of Steam. It’s important that you download the Windows version of Steam and not the Mac version. By default, Steam will detect you are using a Mac and serve you the Mac DMG version of the Steam desktop client but you can change this manually to the Windows download by clicking on the Windows logo (see below).

steam windows exe download

  • Browse to the Steam Setup.exe download in Whisky and click on “Open” in the bottom right corner to start installing the Windows Steam client.

run steam exe whisky

  • Whisky will then prompt you for access to the file on your Mac. Click “OK”. Whisky will then run the Steam EXE installer just as if you were installing it on a Windows PC.

steam setup whisky mac

  • When the installation is complete, just make sure that “Run Steam” is selected and click on “OK” to launch it on your Mac.

steam setup complete whisky mac

  • Then simply login to your Steam account and add Overwatch 2 to your Steam account.

overwatch 2 mac whisky steam

  • Once the game is purchased, you simply go to your Steam Library at the top of Steam, select Overwatch 2 and click the big blue “Install” button. Assuming you have enough disk space on your Mac, select a destination to install the game and enjoy playing Overwatch 2 on your Mac!

overwatch 2 in whisky on mac

  • If you have problems with the frame rate or stability while playing, we also recommend enabling both DXVK and Esync in the bottle settings to help Overwatch 2 run more smoothly in Whisky. whisky dxvk esync settings on mac

3. Parallels (Intel Macs Only)

Another way to play Overwatch 2 on a Mac is to install Windows on an Intel Mac using Parallels and then run the Windows version of Overwatch 2 on your Mac in Battle.net.

You can also play the Steam version of Overwatch 2 on a Mac using Parallels too.

Although there are various methods of running Windows on a Mac the only way to install Overwatch on an Intel Mac in Windows is with a virtual environment like Parallels.

Parallels allows you to run Windows at the same time as macOS so you can switch between the two at any time.

Parallels also works with the latest version of macOS Sonoma so that you can run Sonoma and Windows side-by-side whenever you want.

However, although you can install Windows on M1, M2 & M3 Macs with Parallels, it does not allow you to play Overwatch 2 on M1, M2 and M3 Macs.

If you try to launch Overwatch 2 in Parallels on an M1, M2 or M3 Mac, it simply won’t work.

It’s not clear why this is but there seems to be some kind of technical limitation between Windows and Apple Silicon Macs that prevents Overwatch 2 from running in Parallels on M-chip Macs.

Parallels automatically downloads and installs Windows for you and makes the whole setup process very easy.

 

install windows mac overwatch 2

You can then simply download Overwatch 2 in Battle.net which you can then play on your Mac.

Once you’ve installed Overwatch 2 on your Mac with Parallels, you may need to change some of the game settings such as the frame rate if you experience lag.

You should be able to play Overwatch on your Mac with around 50 frames per second with all presets set to high and 2K resolution.

However, if you experience glitches, try changing the resolution to 1080p with all presets on a medium or low setting to get a higher frame rate.

If there are other Windows only applications or games apart from Overwatch 2 that you want to use or play, we definitely recommend installing Windows on your Mac.

You can download a free trial of Parallels to start installing Overwatch 2 on your Mac now.

You can also read more about it in our full Parallels for Mac review.

For more on playing Windows PC games on a Mac, check out our guide to the best ways to play Windows games on Mac.

 

4. 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.

You can then install the Windows version of Steam or Battle.net depending on which method you prefer to play Overwatch 2.

It also allows your Mac to dedicate all of its resources to running highly demanding games like Overwatch 2 for smoother gameplay than other ways of running Windows on a Mac.

overwatch 2 mac - boot camp

To play Overwatch 2 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 Overwatch 2 in Battle.net to play Overwatch 2 on your Mac or download the Steam version.

Bear in mind that when you setup Boot Camp on your Mac, you’ll need plenty of space on your Mac hard drive to install both Windows and Overwatch 2.

We recommend at least 120GB of hard drive space, to install Windows (which is at least 64GB) and Overwatch 2 which requires 50GB of hard drive space.

The minimum system requirements for Overwatch 2 are:

  • Windows® 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
  • Intel® Core™ i3 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8650
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 600 series, AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 series
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 50 GB available hard drive space
  • Broadband internet connection1024 x 768 minimum display resolution

Can You Play Overwatch 2 On Cloud Gaming?

Overwatch 2 is not available on any cloud gaming platforms including GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud.

The main reason for this is that currently, the developer Activision Blizzard does not allow its games to be played on Cloud gaming platforms.

However, this could change soon in light of Activision Blizzard’s takeover by Microsoft.

Microsoft may allow some of Blizzard’s games to be released on its own Cloud gaming platform Microsoft PC Game Pass or Xbox Cloud although no decision has been made on this yet.

Will Overwatch 2 Be Released On Mac?

It seems unlikely that Overwatch 2 will ever be released on Mac.

The original Overwatch was never released for macOS and despite huge improvements in gaming on Macs, there appear to be no plans to launch a Mac version of Overwatch 2.

The lead developer of Overwatch has previously stated that it’s unlikely Overwatch will ever to make it to Mac due to constraints imposed by Apple so there seems little prospect of Overwatch 2 making it to macOS either.

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