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How to play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac

Strategy · 2019

Best played by streaming from the cloud to your Mac.

Overall rating: Runs great on Mac · 100% of 1 players say it runs well

Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Age of Empires: Definitive Edition will run.

Best played by streaming from the cloud to your Mac.

How to run Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on your Mac in 2026

Best path: CrossOver

CrossOver runs Age of Empires: Definitive Edition natively on Apple Silicon by translating DirectX to Metal. One-click install, no Windows VM, full local performance.

MethodQualityDifficultyCost
CrossOverPickGoodMedium$74 / $39/yrGet it ↗
ParallelsEstimateMedium$99/yrGet it ↗
BoosteroidEstimateEasy$9.95 /moGet it ↗
Get CrossOver Try Parallels Buy on AllKeyShop See all methods & install guide ↓

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

69
Metacritic

Lead one of history's greatest civilizations from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, managing resources and armies. This real-time strategy classic offers deep tactical gameplay and engaging historical campaigns.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition doesn't have a native Mac build, but streams through Boosteroid — play it on any Mac with a solid internet connection.

Buy on AllKeyShopSee how to play it on your Mac
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Performance

How Age of Empires: Definitive Edition runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.

See exactly how Age of Empires: Definitive Edition will run on your Mac

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Best way to play it on Mac

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition doesn't have a native Mac build, but streams through Boosteroid — play it on any Mac with a solid internet connection.

Buy on AllKeyShopSee how to play it on your Mac
See if this is the right method for your setup

Ways to play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac

Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.

Compare methods at a glance

Lower = better

How each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.

  • CrossOverTranslationTop pick
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    15 min
    Overhead
    Medium
  • BoosteroidCloud
    Setup
    Simple
    Time
    5 min
    Overhead
    Low
  • ParallelsVM
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    30 min
    Overhead
    High

Where to buy Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

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Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac with CrossOver

Good· Compatibility

Running Age of Empires: Definitive Edition through CrossOver translates its Windows DirectX calls into Metal on Apple Silicon — no reboot, no Windows license, no virtual machine. Most setup time is spent on first-time bottle configuration and installing the game launcher (Steam, Epic, etc.) inside CrossOver. Once that's done, launching feels close to native. Expect 15–30 minutes of setup on the first run.

Step-by-step

Step 1 — Create a bottle

  1. Open CrossOver → click New Bottle
  2. Name it after the game (e.g. Age of Empires: Definitive Edition) and choose Windows 10 64-bit
  3. Open the bottle's Settings and set:

- Graphics: D3DMetal (not DXVK)

- Synchronization: ESync

- High Resolution Mode: Off

Step 2 — Install the game launcher

  1. Inside CrossOver, click Install Application → search for Steam (or Epic Games Launcher if you own it there)
  2. Install it into the same bottle you just created
  3. Launch Steam, log in, and let it fully update before proceeding

Step 3 — Install and launch Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

  1. Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
  2. Install Age of Empires: Definitive Edition through the launcher as normal
  3. Launch the game — use the launcher's Play button, not CrossOver directly
  4. First launch may take 30–90 seconds to show a window. Don't force-quit unless it hangs for several minutes.

Step 4 — If you hit issues

  • Black screen / stuck in small window: go to Settings → Graphics in-game, set Screen Type to Fullscreen, then restart
  • Resolution resets on every launch: find the game's config/settings file and set the resolution values manually, then mark the file Read-Only to prevent the game overwriting it
  • Crashes on startup: try switching the bottle's Synchronization from ESync to MSync, or vice versa

Video proof

Try CrossOver free for 14 days ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac with Parallels

Estimate· Compatibility

Using Parallels to play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition means running a full copy of Windows 11 ARM inside macOS. This is the most "it just works" approach for games that don't behave under CrossOver, and DirectX 11 is hardware-accelerated. You'll need a Windows license and roughly 80 GB of disk space.

Step-by-step

  1. Buy / start a trial of Parallels Desktop.
  2. Install Windows 11 ARM via the one-click wizard.
  3. Inside Windows, install Steam / Xbox app and Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
  4. Enable DirectX 11 in Parallels settings for best 3D performance.

Video proof

Try Parallels Desktop free ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac with Boosteroid

Estimate· Streaming

Streaming Age of Empires: Definitive Edition through Boosteroid is the fastest way to start playing on a Mac — there's nothing to install, no Windows VM, no compatibility layer. The game runs on a remote GPU and your Mac just receives the video, which means even a base M1 MacBook Air can play the most demanding AAA titles at high settings. The tradeoff is that you need a stable internet connection (ideally wired or 5GHz Wi-Fi with 25+ Mbps down) and a subscription.

Step-by-step

  1. Create a Boosteroid account and pick a plan.
  2. Use the web client or download the macOS app.
  3. Add Age of Empires: Definitive Edition from their library (you'll need to own it on Steam/Epic).

Video proof

Get Boosteroid ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

Our recommendation

For most Mac players we recommend CrossOver as the fastest, smoothest way to play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. One-click local install, official support.

MethodQualityDifficultyCost
CrossOverPickGoodMedium$74 one-time / $39/year
ParallelsEstimateMedium$99/year + Windows licence
BoosteroidEstimateEasy$9.95 / month
Try CrossOver free for 14 days

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