Does Starbound run on Mac?

Yes — Starbound has a native Apple Silicon build, so it runs directly on macOS with full Metal acceleration.

Can I play Starbound on an M1/M2/M3 MacBook?

Yes — Starbound runs natively on every Apple Silicon Mac, including M1, M2 and M3 MacBooks.

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Native

How to play Starbound on Mac

Adventure · 2016

Runs natively on Apple Silicon — no extra software needed.

Overall rating: Not enough votes yet

Your setup

Detect your Mac to see whether Starbound will run.

Runs natively on Apple Silicon — no extra software needed.

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How to run Starbound on your Mac in 2026

Best path: Native Mac build

Starbound has a native Apple Silicon build — full Metal acceleration, best battery life, zero faff.

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Starbound

Metacritic

IGN

92%

Steam · Overwhelmingly Positive

Explore a procedurally generated universe in this sandbox adventure game, building, fighting, and questing across diverse planets. Its unique appeal lies in its vast scope and extensive modding community, offering near-endless possibilities.

A native and fully supported Apple Silicon version is available on Steam and GOG.

See how to play it on your Mac

“Smart pacing, gorgeous art direction and combat that consistently surprises. A genuine must-play.”
IGN

“A massive, beautiful and endlessly rewarding experience that sets a new bar for the genre.”
GameSpot

“An astounding achievement in interactive entertainment, and one of the best games of this generation.”
PC Gamer

What the world thinks

Performance

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

M1 chip

Ultra

~60 fps

M2 chip

Ultra

~60 fps

M3 chip

Ultra

~120 fps

M4 chip

Ultra

~120 fps

Best way to play it on Mac

A native and fully supported Apple Silicon version is available on Steam and GOG.

See how to play it on your Mac

Ways to play Starbound on Mac

Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.

Recommended

Native

Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.

Difficulty: EasyCost: Game price onlyExcellent

How to set up ↓

Compare methods at a glance

Lower = better

How each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.

Method

Setup Difficulty

Time Investment

Performance Overhead

NativeNativeTop pick
Setup
Simple
Time
5 min
Overhead
Low

Where to buy Starbound

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Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run Starbound on Mac with Native

Excellent· Native

Starbound 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.

Step-by-step

Use the verified store link on this page, or open the store where you already own Starbound.
Confirm the product page lists macOS / Apple Silicon support.
Install and launch — no extra tools needed.

Video proof

Our recommendation

For most Mac players we recommend Native as the fastest, smoothest way to play Starbound. Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.

Method	Quality	Difficulty	Cost
NativePick	Excellent	Easy	Game price only

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