Native
Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.

RPG · 2018
Not officially supported, but there are workarounds below.
Overall rating: Runs great on Mac · 100% of 1 players say it runs well
Not officially supported, but there are workarounds below.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has a native Apple Silicon build — full Metal acceleration, best battery life, zero faff.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NativePick | Excellent | Easy | Game price only | |
| Boosteroid | Estimate | Easy | $9.95 /mo | Get it ↗ |
Explore a vast archipelago in this deep, party-based RPG, making choices that shape a dynamic world. Engage in tactical combat and intricate storytelling as you hunt a rogue god through a richly detailed, pirate-themed setting.
The Mac build is Intel-only (x86_64) and runs on Apple Silicon through Rosetta 2 translation — it's a Mac app, but not a true arm64 native one. Expect a ~10–15% performance tax versus a real native port.
How Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.
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The Mac build is Intel-only (x86_64) and runs on Apple Silicon through Rosetta 2 translation — it's a Mac app, but not a true arm64 native one. Expect a ~10–15% performance tax versus a real native port.
Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.
Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
How each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.
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Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has a native Apple Silicon build, which is the gold standard for playing on a Mac. You get full Metal acceleration, best battery life, and no compatibility weirdness. Just buy it from the Mac App Store or Steam for Mac and play.
Streaming Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire 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.
For most Mac players we recommend Native as the fastest, smoothest way to play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| NativePick | Excellent | Easy | Game price only |
| Boosteroid | Estimate | Easy | $9.95 / month |
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