How to Play Windows-Only Steam Games on Mac (February 2016)

[serebit]

You might have already seen this guide to playing Windows Steam games on Mac, by NHRoccodog. This is not that guide. This method will allow you to play Windows-only Steam games on your iMac as if they were Mac games, with no difference in performance at all . Here's how it works:

First, download this file [shareplace.com] (no malware, I promise) , and this file [wineskin.urgesoftware.com] (no malware there either, I promise) . Note that the steam.exe installer may not work, as it did not work for me, but the .msi installer that I uploaded worked for me.

Next, unzip the downloaded .zip file, and open up Wineskin Winery. The window that opens should have a list of engines for download. Download and install the latest one (no admin password required). Once you have done this, click "Create New Blank Wrapper". Name the file "Steam" (Wineskin will include the .app extension for you). Give it some time to build the app. You should find a "Wineskin" folder in the folder that you put Wineskin Winery in.

Inside the Wineskin folder, you'll find "Steam.app". Right click it and select "Show Contents". A finder window will pop up with a "Contents" folder. Double click that, then double click the item labeled "Wineskin.app".

Inside will be a window with a button that says "Install Software". Click that button, then select "Choose Setup Executable". In the Finder window that pops up, select "SteamInstall.msi", the file that you downloaded from me. The Steam installation wizard will pop up, and lead you through the install process. This may take a while, so sit tight. Even when it looks like it's not doing anything (for example, 0% progress after a full minute), it's doing something.

Once the Steam installation completes, a dialog box may come up that says "No executable was found.", and a dropdown list of executables in the wrapper. Select "Steam.exe". Now you can exit Wineskin.

Once it's done, you can now download and install Windows Steam games and play them all you want! I'd recommend using the Mac Steam client to buy games, and the Wineskin Steam client to download and play the Windows games.

In case your game acts weird, reopen Wineskin.app under the Steam app contents and try changing these settings:
- Go to Advanced Settings, then Tools, then Config Utility. At the bottom of the window that opens up, you'll see a list of Windows operating systems you can emulate. Change these around until you find one that suits you.
- Go to Advanced Settings, then Options. Change any one of these. They all change certain things, which can be undone easily.
- Go to Advanced Settings, then Screen Options. If your mouse is acting weird while playing a game, like Call of Duty: World at War did for me, try changing the setting to "Override", and select "Rootless" or "Fullscreen". You'll have to use the keyboard shortcut Command-Q to exit the fullscreen virtual desktop, though.

And that's it! Have fun, and reply to this post if you have comments or concerns.

[drag3n 96]

doesn't work for a mac sorry...... but theres an answer..... buy the games you want from the app store better games there....
sorry to say but can't convert games on steam to mac doesn't work at all.... until the games can work from steam its self, then steam have to do that then. they have to come up with a program from steam for you to buy then.

[serebit]

Originally posted by silk- rope 54:

doesn't work for a mac sorry...... but theres an answer..... buy the games you want from the app store better games there....
sorry to say but can't convert games on steam to mac doesn't work at all.... until the games can work from steam its self, then steam have to do that then. they have to come up with a program from steam for you to buy then.

Did you even read the post? The whole point is to challenge that perception, because it is possible.

[Monster JG ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com]

Originally posted by Ginger Deadshot:

Originally posted by silk- rope 54:

doesn't work for a mac sorry...... but theres an answer..... buy the games you want from the app store better games there....
sorry to say but can't convert games on steam to mac doesn't work at all.... until the games can work from steam its self, then steam have to do that then. they have to come up with a program from steam for you to buy then.

Did you even read the post? The whole point is to challenge that perception, because it is possible.

[leo.finnveden]

Thank you for this! I didn't try the .msi file, but I used the windowsinstaller from http://store.steampowered.com/about/ and followed your instructions, and it worked flawlessly!

[マカ]

Hey, thanks for your guide. My steam worked perfectly but after I closed steam once I was done installing my games I couldn't get it to open up again. I have no idea how to open the client back up, any ideas?

[serebit]

Originally posted by OreoMan:

Hey, thanks for your guide. My steam worked perfectly but after I closed steam once I was done installing my games I couldn't get it to open up again. I have no idea how to open the client back up, any ideas?

What happens when you try to reopen it? Have you tried restarting your computer?

[Maktub]

So I did everything and I got steam to work, but after i close it how do I get it open again?

[serebit]

In your user Applications folder, there should be a folder labeled Wineskin. Open that, and there should be an application titled Steam.

[Maktub]

ok so I did everything and downloaded payday 2 but the game wont load. any suggestions?

[serebit]

Originally posted by -Alias-:

ok so I did everything and downloaded payday 2 but the game wont load. any suggestions?

What do you mean won't load? What happens specifically when you try to launch it?

[Maktub]

The "preparing to launch" screen pops up like any other game would, and a black sceen appears with white borders and then just fails nothing works. I looked into this playonmac thing but I dont know how to use it.

[anna.hoekman]

Yeah, I'm having the same issue as -Alias- is.

[.]

Yea, followed your guide, steam and the game client installed and opened properly but when trying to launch the game (H1Z1) it opens what looks like a terminal/ms-dos window and nothing happens.

[Pilieser]

@d0z3rny Some games don't work on Wine its always good to check WineHQ this mostly gives me a good indication if a game runs fine with Wine.

https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=32049

This won't mean that it never will work, they might fix it but what I have seen so far it takes Wine a long time to fix bugs sometimes.

[BookBird]

When I try to reopen Steam, the Wineskin app takes me to the menu with 'Install Software', 'Set Screen Options' etc... idk how to get the actual app to reopen.