Boosteroid
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
Difficulty: EasyCost: $16.99/mo (Game Pass)Good
CrossOver
How to play State of Decay 2 on Mac
Survival · 2018
Best played by streaming from the cloud via Boosteroid.
Overall rating: Runs great on Mac · 100% of 1 players say it runs well
Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether State of Decay 2 will run.
Best played by streaming from the cloud via Boosteroid.
How to run State of Decay 2 on your Mac in 2026
Best path: Boosteroid
Boosteroid streams State of Decay 2 from a high-end remote GPU straight to your Mac. Nothing to install, plays at high settings even on a base M1.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BoosteroidPick | Good | Easy | $9.95 /mo | Get it ↗ |
| CrossOver | Estimate | Medium | $74 / $39/yr | Get it ↗ |
| Parallels | Estimate | Medium | $99/yr | Get it ↗ |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | Estimate | Easy | $16.99 /mo | Get it ↗ |
Heads up: Boosteroid streams the game but doesn't include a copy — you'll still need to own State of Decay 2 on a supported store (AllKeyShop).
State of Decay 2
The dead have risen and civilization has fallen. Now it's up to you to gather survivors, scavenge for resources and build a community in a post-apocalyptic world – a world where you define what it means to survive in this ultimate zombie survival simulation.
Launches via CrossOver / community wrappers (Mac and Cheese has been reported to work for some users, with varying reliability). Easy Anti-Cheat blocks the online co-op mode entirely; single-player is unaffected. Some players report the Xbox Live sign-in step hanging or failing depending on their Microsoft account state. Not a frictionless experience — hedge accordingly.
What the world thinks
CrossOver / Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK)
For those wanting to run the game locally on their hardware:
- Install CrossOver 24+.
- Create a 'Windows 10 64-bit' bottle and install Steam.
- Enable D3DMetal and Msync in the bottle settings.
- Note: While it runs, you may encounter 'Error Code 6' (Online Services) or stuttering during heavy zombie spawns. Local play is significantly more demanding on the CPU than streaming.
Performance
How State of Decay 2 runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.
See exactly how State of Decay 2 will run on your Mac
Pick your chip and RAM for a personalised estimate.
Best way to play it on Mac
Launches via CrossOver / community wrappers (Mac and Cheese has been reported to work for some users, with varying reliability). Easy Anti-Cheat blocks the online co-op mode entirely; single-player is unaffected. Some players report the Xbox Live sign-in step hanging or failing depending on their Microsoft account state. Not a frictionless experience — hedge accordingly.
See if this is the right method for your setup
Ways to play State of Decay 2 on Mac
Boosteroid and Xbox Cloud Gaming are also available for cloud performance on a strong connection.
CrossOver
Easy Anti-Cheat anti-cheat blocks CrossOver for State of Decay 2. Running it this way risks an account flag, so we do not recommend it.
One-click local install, official support.
Difficulty: MediumCost: $74 one-time / $39/yearRough
Single-player only under CrossOver
The campaign and offline modes run under CrossOver, but this game's anti-cheat blocks online multiplayer. For multiplayer, use cloud streaming instead.
Parallels
Easy Anti-Cheat anti-cheat blocks Parallels for State of Decay 2. Running it this way risks an account flag, so we do not recommend it.
Full Windows 11 ARM inside macOS.
Difficulty: MediumCost: $99/year + Windows licenceRough
Xbox Cloud Gaming
Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
Difficulty: EasyCost: Game Pass Ultimate subscriptionEstimate
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
- BoosteroidCloudTop pickSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
- Xbox Cloud GamingCloudSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
- CrossOverTranslationBlocked for this gameSetupModerateTime15 minOverheadMedium
- ParallelsVMBlocked for this gameSetupModerateTime30 minOverheadHigh
Where to buy State of Decay 2
Live prices compared across trusted PC key sellers — updates every few hours.
Platform-by-platform reliability
Loading per-platform notes…
Step-by-step setup guides
Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.
How to run State of Decay 2 on Mac with Boosteroid
Good· StreamingStreaming State of Decay 2 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 State of Decay 2 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 State of Decay 2 on Mac with CrossOver
Rough· CompatibilityNot recommended for State of Decay 2
Easy Anti-Cheat anti-cheat blocks CrossOver for State of Decay 2. Running it this way risks an account flag, so we do not recommend it.
Running State of Decay 2 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.
Steps, if you continue anyway
Step 1 — Create a bottle
- Open CrossOver → click New Bottle
- Name it after the game (e.g.
State of Decay 2) 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 State of Decay 2
- Open Steam (or your launcher) inside CrossOver
- Install State of Decay 2 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 State of Decay 2 on Mac with Parallels
Rough· CompatibilityNot recommended for State of Decay 2
Easy Anti-Cheat anti-cheat blocks Parallels for State of Decay 2. Running it this way risks an account flag, so we do not recommend it.
Using Parallels to play State of Decay 2 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.
Steps, if you continue anyway
- Buy / start a trial of Parallels Desktop.
- Install Windows 11 ARM via the one-click wizard.
- Inside Windows, install Steam / Xbox app and State of Decay 2.
- 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 State of Decay 2 on Mac with Xbox Cloud Gaming
Estimate· StreamingStreaming State of Decay 2 through Xbox Cloud Gaming 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
- Get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
- Open xbox.com/play in Safari, Chrome, or Edge.
- Search State of Decay 2 and click Play — no install required.
Video proof
Open Xbox Cloud Gaming ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.
Our recommendation
For most Mac players the best way to play State of Decay 2 is streaming it through Boosteroid. CrossOver, Whisky, Game Porting Toolkit, Porting Kit, Parallels, VMware Fusion, UTM and Boot Camp are blocked on this title, so do not use them. Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| BoosteroidPick | Good | Easy | $9.95 / month |
| CrossOverBlocked | Rough | Medium | $74 one-time / $39/year |
| ParallelsBlocked | Rough | Medium | $99/year + Windows licence |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | Estimate | Easy | Game Pass Ultimate subscription |
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