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How to play Age of Empires IV on Mac

Strategy · 2021

Best played by streaming from the cloud to your Mac.

Overall rating: Tricky to run on Mac · 0% of 2 players say it runs well

Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Age of Empires IV will run.

Best played by streaming from the cloud to your Mac.

How to run Age of Empires IV on your Mac in 2026

Best path: CrossOver

CrossOver runs Age of Empires IV 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 ↗
Xbox Cloud GamingEstimateEasy$16.99 /moGet it ↗
GeForce NOWEstimateEasyFree / $9.99 /moGet it ↗
Get CrossOver Try Parallels Buy on AllKeyShop See all methods & install guide ↓

Age of Empires IV

The long-awaited return of the historical real-time strategy series. Command distinct civilisations across four campaigns spanning the Dark Ages to the Renaissance, in a modern re-imagining of the classic Age of Empires formula.

Age of Empires IV is fully playable on Apple Silicon via CrossOver with D3DMetal enabled, offering a near-native experience despite the lack of a formal macOS port.

Buy on AllKeyShopSee how to play it on your Mac
Age of Empires IV screenshot 1Age of Empires IV screenshot 2Age of Empires IV screenshot 3Age of Empires IV screenshot 4Age of Empires IV screenshot 5Age of Empires IV screenshot 6

What the world thinks

Performance

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

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Best way to play it on Mac

Age of Empires IV is fully playable on Apple Silicon via CrossOver with D3DMetal enabled, offering a near-native experience despite the lack of a formal macOS port.

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 IV on Mac

Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce NOW are also available for cloud performance on a strong connection.

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
  • Xbox Cloud GamingCloud
    Setup
    Simple
    Time
    5 min
    Overhead
    Low
  • GeForce NOWCloud
    Setup
    Simple
    Time
    5 min
    Overhead
    Low
  • ParallelsVM
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    30 min
    Overhead
    High

Where to buy Age of Empires IV

Live prices compared across trusted PC key sellers — updates every few hours.

Platform-by-platform reliability

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Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run Age of Empires IV on Mac with CrossOver

Good· Compatibility

Running Age of Empires IV 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 IV) 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 IV

  1. Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
  2. Install Age of Empires IV 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 IV on Mac with Parallels

Estimate· Compatibility

Using Parallels to play Age of Empires IV 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 IV.
  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 IV on Mac with Xbox Cloud Gaming

Estimate· Streaming

Streaming Age of Empires IV through Xbox Cloud Gaming 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. Get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
  2. Open xbox.com/play in Safari, Chrome, or Edge.
  3. Search Age of Empires IV and click Play — no install required.

Video proof

Open Xbox Cloud Gaming ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run Age of Empires IV on Mac with GeForce NOW

Estimate· Streaming

Streaming Age of Empires IV through GeForce NOW 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. Sign up at GeForce NOW. The free tier works; Ultimate gives 4K/120fps.
  2. Download the GeForce NOW Mac app (Apple Silicon native).
  3. Link your Steam / Epic / Xbox account that owns Age of Empires IV.
  4. Search the title in the app and click Play.

Video proof

Start playing on GeForce NOW ↗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 IV. One-click local install, official support.

MethodQualityDifficultyCost
CrossOverPickGoodMedium$74 one-time / $39/year
ParallelsEstimateMedium$99/year + Windows licence
Xbox Cloud GamingEstimateEasyGame Pass Ultimate subscription
GeForce NOWEstimateEasyFree tier / $9.99+ per month
Try CrossOver free for 14 days

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