CrossOver
One-click local install, official support.
Difficulty: MediumCost: $74 (CrossOver)Good
Parallels
How to play Honkai: Star Rail on Mac
RPG · 2023
Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.
Overall rating: Not enough votes yet
Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Honkai: Star Rail will run.
Best in a Windows 11 ARM virtual machine via Parallels.
How to run Honkai: Star Rail on your Mac in 2026
Best path: CrossOver
CrossOver runs Honkai: Star Rail natively on Apple Silicon by translating DirectX to Metal. One-click install, no Windows VM, full local performance.
Honkai: Star Rail
Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based space fantasy RPG where players board the Astral Express to travel across the cosmos. As the Trailblazer, you carry a mysterious seed called a Stellaron and must navigate galactic conflicts across diverse planets, from a frozen wasteland to a sprawling silk-punk ship. The game features tactical team-building, elemental weaknesses, and stunning cinematic ultimate attacks.
Unlike its predecessor Genshin Impact, Star Rail focuses on strategic turn-based combat rather than real-time action, allowing for a more relaxed yet deeply cerebral gameplay loop. The tone blends lighthearted humor and pop-culture references with a grand, philosophical narrative about the nature of humanity and the gods known as Aeons.
Honkai: Star Rail runs excellently via CrossOver with D3D Metal enabled, offering near-native performance on M-series chips despite the lack of an official Mac client.
What the world thinks
- Install CrossOver: Download and install CrossOver Mac from CodeWeavers.
- Create a Bottle: Create a New Bottle and name it 'Star Rail'. Ensure the bottle type is 'Windows 10 64-bit'.
- Enable Settings: In the right-hand sidebar of the bottle, ensure D3D Metal and ESync are toggled ON. Do not use MSync as it can cause instability in this specific title.
- Download Launcher: Download the official Windows installer from the HoYoVerse website and run the .exe through 'Run Command' in your Star Rail bottle.
- Launcher Fix: If the launcher appears blank, you may need to install 'Core Fonts' into the bottle via the 'Install Software' menu.
- Play: Once the game downloads, launch it directly from the bottle.
- Boosteroid (Cloud): If your Mac lacks the storage or you have a base M1 chip, Boosteroid is the easiest path. It requires no installation other than a browser and supports the game officially. This bypasses all compatibility headaches but is subject to internet latency.
- PlayCover/Sideloading: Historically, users used PlayCover to run the iOS version. However, due to aggressive anti-cheat updates in version 2.0+, this method frequently results in account bans or failure to launch. It is currently not recommended.
Performance
How Honkai: Star Rail runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.
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Best way to play it on Mac
Honkai: Star Rail runs excellently via CrossOver with D3D Metal enabled, offering near-native performance on M-series chips despite the lack of an official Mac client.
See if this is the right method for your setup
Ways to play Honkai: Star Rail on Mac
Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.
Parallels
Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.
Difficulty: MediumCost: $99/year + Windows licenceEstimate
Boosteroid
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
Difficulty: EasyCost: $9.95 / monthEstimate
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
- CrossOverTranslationTop pickSetupModerateTime15 minOverheadMedium
- BoosteroidCloudSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
- ParallelsVMSetupModerateTime30 minOverheadHigh
Where to buy Honkai: Star Rail
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 Honkai: Star Rail on Mac with CrossOver
Good· CompatibilityRunning Honkai: Star Rail 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.
Honkai: Star Rail) 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 Honkai: Star Rail
- Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
- Install Honkai: Star Rail 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 Honkai: Star Rail on Mac with Parallels
Estimate· CompatibilityUsing Parallels to play Honkai: Star Rail 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 Honkai: Star Rail.
- 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 Honkai: Star Rail on Mac with Boosteroid
Estimate· StreamingStreaming Honkai: Star Rail 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 Honkai: Star Rail 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 Honkai: Star Rail. One-click local install, official support.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| CrossOverPick | Good | Medium | $74 one-time / $39/year |
| Parallels | Estimate | Medium | $99/year + Windows licence |
| Boosteroid | Estimate | Easy | $9.95 / month |
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