← Back
Deep Rock Galactic cover art
CrossOver

How to play Deep Rock Galactic on Mac

Shooter · 2020

Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.

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

Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Deep Rock Galactic will run.

Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.

How to run Deep Rock Galactic 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
MethodQualityDifficultyCost
ParallelsPickExcellentMedium$99/yrGet it ↗
CrossOverGoodMedium$74 / $39/yrGet it ↗
BoosteroidGoodEasy$9.95 /moGet it ↗
WhiskyPlayableMediumFreeGet it ↗
Game Porting ToolkitGoodAdvancedFreeGet it ↗
Get Parallels Try CrossOver See all methods & install guide ↓

Deep Rock Galactic

Descend into hazardous, procedurally generated cave systems as a space dwarf, mining valuable resources and battling alien swarms. This co-op FPS emphasizes teamwork and environmental destruction in a darkly humorous, industrial sci-fi setting.

This co-op shooter runs well on Apple Silicon using CrossOver or Whisky.

See how to play it on your Mac

What the world thinks

Performance

What each M-series Mac can realistically handle. Tap any chip to report your experience.

M1 chip
Medium
~60 fps
M2 chip
Medium
~60 fps
M3 chip
Ultra
~60 fps
M4 chip
Ultra
~120 fps
M5 chip
Ultra
~120 fps
Best way to play it on Mac

This co-op shooter runs well on Apple Silicon using CrossOver or Whisky.

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

Ways to play Deep Rock Galactic 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.

  • ParallelsVMTop pick
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    30 min
    Overhead
    High
  • BoosteroidCloud
    Setup
    Simple
    Time
    5 min
    Overhead
    Low
  • CrossOverTranslation
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    15 min
    Overhead
    Medium
  • WhiskyTranslation
    Setup
    Moderate
    Time
    15 min
    Overhead
    Medium
  • Game Porting ToolkitTranslation
    Setup
    Complex
    Time
    30 min
    Overhead
    Medium

Where to buy Deep Rock Galactic

Checking which partner stores stock this game…

Platform-by-platform reliability

Loading per-platform notes…

Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run Deep Rock Galactic on Mac with Parallels

Good· Compatibility

Using Parallels to play Deep Rock Galactic 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 Deep Rock Galactic.
  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 Deep Rock Galactic on Mac with CrossOver

Good· Compatibility

Running Deep Rock Galactic 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. Deep Rock Galactic) 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 Deep Rock Galactic

  1. Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
  2. Install Deep Rock Galactic 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 Deep Rock Galactic on Mac with Boosteroid

Good· Streaming

Streaming Deep Rock Galactic 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 Deep Rock Galactic 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 Deep Rock Galactic on Mac with Whisky

Playable· Compatibility

Running Deep Rock Galactic 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

  1. Download Whisky (free, requires macOS 14+).
  2. Open Whisky → New Bottle.
  3. Install Steam or your launcher in the bottle.
  4. Install Deep Rock Galactic and run it from Whisky.

Video proof

Download Whisky (free) ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run Deep Rock Galactic on Mac with Game Porting Toolkit

Good· Compatibility

Running Deep Rock Galactic 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

  1. Install Homebrew: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)".
  2. brew tap apple/apple http://github.com/apple/homebrew-apple then brew install game-porting-toolkit.
  3. Create a Wine prefix and install Steam inside it.
  4. Install Deep Rock Galactic through Steam and launch via gameportingtoolkit.

Video proof

Get Game Porting Toolkit ↗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 Deep Rock Galactic. Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.

MethodQualityDifficultyCost
ParallelsPickExcellentMedium$99/year + Windows license
CrossOverGoodMedium$74 one-time / $39/year
BoosteroidGoodEasy$9.95 / month
WhiskyPlayableMediumFree
Game Porting ToolkitGoodAdvancedFree
Try Parallels Desktop free

Comments

Share what worked for you running Deep Rock Galactic on Mac.

Be kind. No spam.

Loading comments…

Frequently asked questions