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Papers, Please cover art
CrossOver

How to play Papers, Please on Mac

Simulation · 2013

Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.

Overall rating: Runs great on Mac · 100% of 8 players say it runs well

Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether Papers, Please will run.

Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.

How to run Papers, Please on your Mac in 2026

Best path: CrossOver

CrossOver runs Papers, Please 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 ↗
GeForce NOWEstimateEasyFree / $9.99 /moGet it ↗
Get CrossOver Try Parallels Buy on AllKeyShop See all methods & install guide ↓

Papers, Please

85
Metacritic

Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.

A native 64-bit Mac update was never released, so you must use a compatibility layer like CrossOver or Porting Kit to run the Windows version on Apple Silicon.

Buy on AllKeyShopSee how to play it on your Mac
Papers, Please screenshot 1Papers, Please screenshot 2Papers, Please screenshot 3Papers, Please screenshot 4Papers, Please screenshot 5Papers, Please screenshot 6

What the world thinks

  1. Download CrossOver: Install the latest version of CrossOver (v23 or higher recommended).
  2. Create a New Bottle: Click 'Install' and search for 'Papers, Please'. Select the Steam or Standalone installer.
  3. Install Steam/Game: Follow the prompts to install the Windows version of Steam inside the bottle, then sign in and download the game.
  4. Settings: In the CrossOver sidebar for your bottle, ensure 'D3D Metal' or 'ESYNC' is toggled on (though for this specific title, even standard 'WineD3D' works flawlessly).
  5. Launch: Play directly from your CrossOver dashboard.
  • Porting Kit: A free alternative to CrossOver. Use the 'Steambuild 32bit' or specific 'Papers Please' entry in Porting Kit. It uses a custom Wine wrapper to bridge the 32-bit gap.
  • Whisky: If you have the Steam Windows installer (.exe), you can run it through Whisky (a free GPTK wrapper). It is very lightweight and sufficient for this game's low requirements.
  • Virtualization (Parallels/VMWare): While overkill for a 2D game, if you already have a Windows VM, Papers, Please will run at full speed without any configuration tweaks.

Performance

How Papers, Please runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.

See exactly how Papers, Please will run on your Mac

Pick your chip and RAM for a personalised estimate.

Best way to play it on Mac

A native 64-bit Mac update was never released, so you must use a compatibility layer like CrossOver or Porting Kit to run the Windows version on Apple Silicon.

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

Ways to play Papers, Please on Mac

Boosteroid 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
  • BoosteroidCloud
    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 Papers, Please

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 Papers, Please on Mac with CrossOver

Good· Compatibility

Running Papers, Please 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. Papers, Please) 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 Papers, Please

  1. Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
  2. Install Papers, Please 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 Papers, Please on Mac with Parallels

Estimate· Compatibility

Using Parallels to play Papers, Please 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 Papers, Please.
  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 Papers, Please on Mac with Boosteroid

Estimate· Streaming

Streaming Papers, Please 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 Papers, Please 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 Papers, Please on Mac with GeForce NOW

Estimate· Streaming

Streaming Papers, Please 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 Papers, Please.
  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 Papers, Please. One-click local install, official support.

MethodQualityDifficultyCost
CrossOverPickGoodMedium$74 one-time / $39/year
ParallelsEstimateMedium$99/year + Windows licence
BoosteroidEstimateEasy$9.95 / month
GeForce NOWEstimateEasyFree tier / $9.99+ per month
Try CrossOver free for 14 days

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