Parallels
Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.
Difficulty: MediumCost: $99/year + Windows licenseGood
CrossOver
How to play Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on Mac
· 2021
Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.
Overall rating: Not enough votes yet
Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition will run.
Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.
How to run Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on your Mac in 2026
Best path: Parallels
Runs in a full Windows 11 ARM virtual machine — the universal fallback for Windows games. Demanding 3D titles may need lower settings.
- Heads up on Parallels: Requires a Parallels licence and a Windows 11 ARM install
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ParallelsPick | Excellent | Medium | $99/yr | Get it ↗ |
| CrossOver | Good | Medium | $74 / $39/yr | Get it ↗ |
| Boosteroid | Good | Easy | $9.95 /mo | Get it ↗ |
| Whisky | Playable | Medium | Free | Get it ↗ |
| Game Porting Toolkit | Good | Advanced | Free | Get it ↗ |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | Great | Easy | $16.99 /mo | Get it ↗ |
| GeForce NOW | Playable | Easy | Free / $9.99 /mo | Get it ↗ |
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
Celebrating its first year of delighting millions of global players, the award-winning and best-selling strategy franchise continues with Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition, putting you at the center of even more epic historical battles that shaped the world.
No native Mac version. Boosteroid streams it well. Xbox Cloud Gaming also supports it via Game Pass.
What the world thinks
Performance
What each M-series Mac can realistically handle. Tap any chip to report your experience.
M1 chip
Medium
~45 fps
M2 chip
Medium
~60 fps
M3 chip
High
~60 fps
M4 chip
Ultra
~60 fps
M5 chip
Ultra
~120 fps
Best way to play it on Mac
No native Mac version. Boosteroid streams it well. Xbox Cloud Gaming also supports it via Game Pass.
See if this is the right method for your setup
Ways to play Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on Mac
GeForce NOW and Boosteroid and Xbox Cloud Gaming are also available for cloud performance on a strong connection.
CrossOver
One-click local install, official support.
Difficulty: MediumCost: $74 one-time / $39/yearGood
Boosteroid
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
Difficulty: EasyCost: $9.95 / monthGood
Whisky
Free option built on Game Porting Toolkit.
Difficulty: MediumCost: FreePlayable
Game Porting Toolkit
Highest local FPS for tinkerers.
Difficulty: AdvancedCost: FreeGood
Xbox Cloud Gaming
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
Difficulty: EasyCost: $16.99 / month (Game Pass)Great
GeForce NOW
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
Difficulty: EasyCost: Free / $9.99 per monthPlayable
Compare methods at a glance
Lower = betterHow each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.
Method
Setup Difficulty
Time Investment
Performance Overhead
- ParallelsVMTop pickSetupModerateTime30 minOverheadHigh
- GeForce NOWCloudSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
- BoosteroidCloudSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
- Xbox Cloud GamingCloudSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
- CrossOverTranslationSetupModerateTime15 minOverheadMedium
- WhiskyTranslationSetupModerateTime15 minOverheadMedium
- Game Porting ToolkitTranslationSetupComplexTime30 minOverheadMedium
Where to buy Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
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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: Anniversary Edition on Mac with Parallels
Good· CompatibilityUsing Parallels to play Age of Empires IV: Anniversary 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
- Buy / start a trial of Parallels Desktop.
- Install Windows 11 ARM via the one-click wizard.
- Inside Windows, install Steam / Xbox app and Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition.
- 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: Anniversary Edition on Mac with CrossOver
Good· CompatibilityRunning Age of Empires IV: Anniversary 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
- Open CrossOver → click New Bottle
- Name it after the game (e.g.
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition) and choose Windows 10 64-bit - Open the bottle's Settings and set:
- Graphics: D3DMetal (not DXVK)
- Synchronization: ESync
- High Resolution Mode: Off
Step 2 — Install the game launcher
- Inside CrossOver, click Install Application → search for Steam (or Epic Games Launcher if you own it there)
- Install it into the same bottle you just created
- Launch Steam, log in, and let it fully update before proceeding
Step 3 — Install and launch Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
- Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
- Install Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition through the launcher as normal
- Launch the game — use the launcher's Play button, not CrossOver directly
- 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: Anniversary Edition on Mac with Boosteroid
Good· StreamingStreaming Age of Empires IV: Anniversary 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
- Create a Boosteroid account and pick a plan.
- Use the web client or download the macOS app.
- Add Age of Empires IV: Anniversary 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.
How to run Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on Mac with Whisky
Playable· CompatibilityRunning Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition through Whisky translates the game's Windows DirectX calls into Metal on the fly. Performance is impressively close to a native Windows PC on Apple Silicon, and you stay entirely inside macOS — no VM, no rebooting. Expect to spend 10–20 minutes on first-time setup.
Step-by-step
Video proof
Download Whisky (free) ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.
How to run Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on Mac with Game Porting Toolkit
Good· CompatibilityRunning Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition through Game Porting Toolkit translates the game's Windows DirectX calls into Metal on the fly. Performance is impressively close to a native Windows PC on Apple Silicon, and you stay entirely inside macOS — no VM, no rebooting. Expect to spend 10–20 minutes on first-time setup.
Step-by-step
- Install Homebrew:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)". brew tap apple/apple http://github.com/apple/homebrew-applethenbrew install game-porting-toolkit.- Create a Wine prefix and install Steam inside it.
- Install Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition through Steam and launch via
gameportingtoolkit.
Video proof
Get Game Porting Toolkit ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.
How to run Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on Mac with Xbox Cloud Gaming
Great· StreamingStreaming Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition 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
- Get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
- Open xbox.com/play in Safari, Chrome, or Edge.
- Search Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition 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: Anniversary Edition on Mac with GeForce NOW
Playable· StreamingStreaming Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition 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
- Sign up at GeForce NOW. The free tier works; Ultimate gives 4K/120fps.
- Download the GeForce NOW Mac app (Apple Silicon native).
- Link your Steam / Epic / Xbox account that owns Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition.
- 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 Parallels as the fastest, smoothest way to play Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition. Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ParallelsPick | Excellent | Medium | $99/year + Windows license |
| CrossOver | Good | Medium | $74 one-time / $39/year |
| Boosteroid | Good | Easy | $9.95 / month |
| Whisky | Playable | Medium | Free |
| Game Porting Toolkit | Good | Advanced | Free |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | Great | Easy | $16.99 / month (Game Pass) |
| GeForce NOW | Playable | Easy | Free / $9.99 per month |
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