Native
Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.
Difficulty: EasyCost: FreeExcellent
Native
How to play War Thunder on Mac
Action / Massively Multiplayer / Simulation / Free To Play · 2013
Runs natively on Apple Silicon — no extra software needed.
Overall rating: Runs great on Mac · 86% of 7 players say it runs well
Your setup
Detect your Mac to see whether War Thunder will run.
Runs natively on Apple Silicon — no extra software needed.
How to run War Thunder on your Mac in 2026
Best path: Native Mac build
War Thunder has a native Apple Silicon build — full Metal acceleration, best battery life, zero faff.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NativePick | Excellent | Easy | Game price only |
War Thunder
81
Metacritic
War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft, from the early 20th century to the most advanced modern combat units. Join now and take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea.
War Thunder features a robust native Apple Silicon client with Metal support, offering excellent performance across the entire M-series chip lineup.
What the world thinks
Performance
How War Thunder runs on your Mac, from our performance model and player reports.
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Best way to play it on Mac
War Thunder features a robust native Apple Silicon client with Metal support, offering excellent performance across the entire M-series chip lineup.
See if this is the right method for your setup
Ways to play War Thunder on Mac
Here are all the options available, ranked by what we recommend first.
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Lower = betterHow each supported method stacks up on setup effort, time and runtime overhead.
Method
Setup Difficulty
Time Investment
Performance Overhead
- NativeNativeTop pickSetupSimpleTime5 minOverheadLow
Where to buy War Thunder
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Step-by-step setup guides
Idiot-proof walkthroughs for every method.
How to run War Thunder on Mac with Native
Excellent· NativeWar Thunder 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 War Thunder.
- 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 War Thunder. Runs directly on Apple Silicon — no extra software.
| Method | Quality | Difficulty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| NativePick | Excellent | Easy | Game price only |
Comments
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