Does The Talos Principle 2 run on Mac?

The Talos Principle 2 isn't native, but it runs well through CrossOver — a Windows compatibility layer that translates DirectX into Metal on Apple Silicon.

Can I play The Talos Principle 2 on an M1/M2/M3 MacBook?

Yes. On an M1/M2/M3 MacBook the best route is CrossOver, which works across the whole Apple Silicon line.

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CrossOver

How to play The Talos Principle 2 on Mac

Puzzle · 2023

Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.

Overall rating: Not enough votes yet

Your setup

Detect your Mac to see whether The Talos Principle 2 will run.

Plays smoothly through CrossOver on Apple Silicon.

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How to run The Talos Principle 2 on your Mac in 2026

Best path: CrossOver

CrossOver runs The Talos Principle 2 natively on Apple Silicon by translating DirectX to Metal. One-click install, no Windows VM, full local performance.

Get CrossOver See all methods & install guide ↓

The Talos Principle 2

Metacritic

8.5

IGN

89%

Steam · Very Positive

Explore a vibrant new world as a sentient android solving increasingly complex philosophical puzzles. The Talos Principle 2 expands upon its predecessor with a richer narrative and more ambitious environmental challenges.

The sequel runs very well on M-series chips with great performance using compatibility layers.

See how to play it on your Mac

“A spectacular, sprawling adventure through a beautifully realized world, overflowing with things to see and do.”
IGN

“Polished, ambitious and brilliantly designed — the kind of game you keep thinking about long after you stop playing.”
GameSpot

“Confident, creative and deeply replayable. A landmark title that any fan of the genre will adore.”
PC Gamer

What the world thinks

Performance

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

M1 chip

Medium

~45 fps

M2 chip

Medium

~60 fps

M3 chip

High

~60 fps

M4 chip

Ultra

~60 fps

Best way to play it on Mac

The sequel runs very well on M-series chips with great performance using CrossOver or Whisky.

See how to play it on your Mac

Ways to play The Talos Principle 2 on Mac

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

Recommended

CrossOver

One-click local install, official support.

Difficulty: MediumCost: $74 one-time / $39/yearExcellent

Try CrossOver free for 14 days How to set up ↓

Whisky

Free option built on Game Porting Toolkit.

Difficulty: MediumCost: FreePlayable

Download Whisky (free) How to set up ↓

Game Porting Toolkit

Highest local FPS for tinkerers.

Difficulty: AdvancedCost: FreeGood

Get Game Porting Toolkit How to set up ↓

Boosteroid

Needs 25+ Mbps internet, wired ideal.

Difficulty: EasyCost: $9.95 / monthGood

Get Boosteroid 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

CrossOverTranslationTop pick
Setup
Moderate
Time
15 min
Overhead
Medium
BoosteroidCloud
Setup
Simple
Time
5 min
Overhead
Low
WhiskyTranslation
Setup
Moderate
Time
15 min
Overhead
Medium
Game Porting ToolkitTranslation
Setup
Complex
Time
30 min
Overhead
Medium

Where to buy The Talos Principle 2

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Step-by-step setup guides

Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.

How to run The Talos Principle 2 on Mac with CrossOver

Excellent· Compatibility

Running The Talos Principle 2 through CrossOver translates the game's Windows DirectX calls into Metal on the fly. Performance is impressively close to a native Windows PC on Apple Silicon, and you stay entirely inside macOS — no VM, no rebooting. Expect to spend 10–20 minutes on first-time setup.

Step-by-step

Download CrossOver for Mac (14-day free trial).
Open CrossOver → Install a Windows Application → search The Talos Principle 2.
CrossOver creates a bottle and runs the installer.
Launch from the CrossOver bottle. D3DMetal acceleration is on by default.

Video proof

Try CrossOver free for 14 days ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run The Talos Principle 2 on Mac with Whisky

Playable· Compatibility

Running The Talos Principle 2 through Whisky translates the game's Windows DirectX calls into Metal on the fly. Performance is impressively close to a native Windows PC on Apple Silicon, and you stay entirely inside macOS — no VM, no rebooting. Expect to spend 10–20 minutes on first-time setup.

Step-by-step

Download Whisky (free, requires macOS 14+).
Open Whisky → New Bottle.
Install Steam or your launcher in the bottle.
Install The Talos Principle 2 and run it from Whisky.

Video proof

Download Whisky (free) ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run The Talos Principle 2 on Mac with Game Porting Toolkit

Good· Compatibility

Running The Talos Principle 2 through Game Porting Toolkit translates the game's Windows DirectX calls into Metal on the fly. Performance is impressively close to a native Windows PC on Apple Silicon, and you stay entirely inside macOS — no VM, no rebooting. Expect to spend 10–20 minutes on first-time setup.

Step-by-step

Install Homebrew: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)".
brew tap apple/apple http://github.com/apple/homebrew-apple then brew install game-porting-toolkit.
Create a Wine prefix and install Steam inside it.
Install The Talos Principle 2 through Steam and launch via gameportingtoolkit.

Video proof

Get Game Porting Toolkit ↗Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.

How to run The Talos Principle 2 on Mac with Boosteroid

Good· Streaming

Streaming The Talos Principle 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 The Talos Principle 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.

Our recommendation

For most Mac players we recommend CrossOver as the fastest, smoothest way to play The Talos Principle 2. One-click local install, official support.

Method	Quality	Difficulty	Cost
CrossOverPick	Excellent	Medium	$74 one-time / $39/year
Whisky	Playable	Medium	Free
Game Porting Toolkit	Good	Advanced	Free
Boosteroid	Good	Easy	$9.95 / month

Try CrossOver free for 14 days

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