Can you play Assetto Corsa on Mac?

For racing simulation fans, Assetto Corsa is still a game that you simply must have in your collection by all means. If you still don’t think there’s enough diversity, the game features an ever-growing library of third-party content that you can play with.

To enjoy Assetto Corsa on a Mac, however, you’ll need to do some work beforehand as the game does not have a ready-to-install Mac version.

About Assetto Corsa on Mac

Assetto Corsa is an online video-racing game that stands out with high realism and adrenalin. Kunos Simulazione, an Italian game developer, has created this game that is both precise enough to please dedicated sim racers and approachable enough to suit people who simply want to drive some magnificent cars across some stunning tracks.

Obviously, this isn’t just a recreational game but a sim racing at its finest. To achieve maximum realism, Assetto Corsa is developed in conjunction with the world’s most prominent automobile manufacturers. This raises the bar on simulation with an emphasis on pure driving realism and pinpoint precision in all aspects of the game.

When you join the game, you can choose from over 90 brands of dream cars including Ferrari, Maserati, BMW, Audi, Lamborghini, Ford, Mercedes Benz, Pagani, Alfa Romeo, Toyota, and more, all rendered to an obsessive level of detail, and each with stunning handling and performance modeling taken from manufacturer’s real-life data and telemetry, as well as a plethora of other features.

Assetto Corsa features 24 different configurations from 15 renowned circuits, including Monza, Barcelona, Silverstone, Nordschleife  Spa Francorchamps, Imola, and Brands Hatch. The game is based on laser scanning technology, which ensures impressive accuracy in the design and realism.

As a player, you’ll enjoy a powerful physics engine with features such as tire flat spots, heat cycles, graining, blistering, and more, which have never before been seen in any other racing simulator.

Assetto Corsa’s specifics

Since its release, the constant improvements to all versions of the game have made it significantly more enjoyable to play, and the release of the console versions that address a number of bugfixes, crashing issues, improved wheel and controller support, and subtle tweaks to the gameplay, such as backfiring noises in some car models.

In addition to minor visual improvements and bug fixes, the game’s handling model – the component that is very important for each sim – has been enhanced. There are settings for all-wheel-drive vehicles, changes in heating performance for vehicles with slick tires, and even alterations in engine performance depending on temperature and air density.

A real sense of weight and momentum is added to the vehicles as the tires bite into and scrub across the asphalt in ways that are familiar to those who have previously driven a real vehicle on a racetrack. Meanwhile, the circuits, are impressive with their realistic recreation. You will be faced with the same inconvenient bumps, severe curbs and tricky cambers that can be found on a real circuit.

This game environment provides almost as much excitement as a genuine race when combined with a track full of other cars with reasonable AI, or a track full of real players in the game’s online modes.

The game’s graphics have more personality than some other games in the genre and are more than accurate enough to be immersive.

It’s entertaining to race, it’s entertaining to hot-lap, and there’s an ever-growing variety of vehicles, tracks, and challenges available to keep gamers interested. With an ever-growing online fan base, which is another aspect that determines whether or not a modern sim can survive, you’ll always be able to find competitive competition.

Extensive Customization

Customization and modifying are two terms that are used to describe the process of making something unique. Assetto Corsa will allow for extensive customization and modification in order to meet the needs of professional sim-racers, gamers who prefer to approach the driving experience in a more gradual manner, and hobbyists who simply want to reproduce and share their cars and tracks, all while utilizing the same editing tools developed and used by the game’s creators and publishers.

GAME MODES

  • Free Practice
  • Racing against AI
  • Career
  • Custom championship
  • Online Multiplayer
  • HotLap
  • Time Attack
  • Special Events
  • Drift
  • Drag race

FEATURES

  • In game telemetry and apps
  • Advanced car setup management
  • Flags
  • Penalties

How to play Assetto Corsa on Mac

To play Assetto Corsa on Mac, the easiest and most straightforward option is to use the Boosteroid cloud-gaming platform. Other options to play Assetto Corsa on Mac are to use GeForce Now or to first install Windows on your Mac through Parallels or Boot Camp.

Regardless of which of the different methods to play Assetto Corsa you decide to try, you must first purchase the game on Steam. If you don’t have a Steam account, create one now on this page, enter the account, go to the Steam page of Assetto Corsa, and buy the game using a payment method of your choosing. Once you own the game on Steam, you can proceed with the instructions shown below, and try the different methods to see which one would best fit your preferences.

Assetto Corsa Set Up Methods

MethodsAdvantageDisadvantage
Cloud Gaming– No set-up required – Register and Play
– Access to a Library of over 70 top-rated free Games
– Smooth performance
– Compatible with M1 and Intel Macs
– Monthly Fee
– Requires Decent Internet Connection
– No Free Trial
BootCamp– Free to use any time
– Windows 10 Environment
– Painful Setup
– Mediocre Performance
– Only Compatible with Intel Macs
Parallels Virtual Machine– Easy Set-up
– Adequate Performance
– Play almost any PC game
– Windows 11 environment
– Compatible with M1 and Intel Macs
– 14-day free trial
– Yearly Fee

Assetto Corsa with Cloud Gaming

Step 1. Get Assetto Corsa

Before playing Assetto Corsa make sure you get the game through the official websites. For the moment only Steam is compatible with cloud gaming services such as Boosteriod and Geforce Now.

Update: Limited time offer now available at CDkeys.com,  – 76% Discount Assetto Corsa for just $11.69  (Steam Launcher)

Step 2. Register and Add Assetto Corsa To Boosteroid Cloud Gaming Library

All you need to do now is register for Boosteroid. This allows you to add Assetto Corsa to their Cloud Gaming Library. Once uploaded you can seamlessly play the game from your Mac, TV, or Mobile Device.

When Registered you will have additional access to more top-rated games for free. Pricing varies depending on the subscription plan.

Play Assetto Corsa with Boosteroid

Starting the game through Boosteroid requires the least amount of time and effort to set up – all you need to do is register on the service’s site and start the game:

  1. Click here to go to Boosteroid’s sign up page and create a new account.
  2. Once the account is created, log into it, and search for Assetto Corsa using the search bar at the top (be sure to type the exact name of the game – if there’s a type, the search won’t find it).
  3. Click on Assetto Corsa when it shows up, and click Play once on the game’s page.
  4. Select Subscribe, select a subscription plan for Boosteroid, and purchase it – this is required to be able to use the service for gaming.

  5. Once you have subscribed to Boosteroid, start the game, confirm that you agree to log in to your Steam account in order to play, wait for Assetto Corsa to load, and sign in with your Steam account details to enter the game.

Note 1: Boosteroid works best with Google Chrome and Opera.

Note 2: You can turn on/off the full-screen mode by pressing together the Control + Command + F keys.

Play Assetto Corsa with GeForce Now

GeForce Now takes a bit more to set up because you will need to install the GeForce Now app, but it’s still quite easy and quick to get everything ready for gaming.

  1. Visit the site of the service and create a new account there.
  2. Get the GeForce Now client for Mac from the downloads section of the site and install it.
  3. Start the app and log in with your GeForce Now username/email and password.
  4. Search for Assetto Corse in the GeForce Now search bar and select the game’s tile when it shows up.
  5. Click Play and then select the Continue button – the game will begin to load and once it’s ready to start, you must enter your Steam username and password. After that, Assetto Corsa will start in the GeForce Now client.

How to download Assetto Corsa on Mac

To download Assetto Corsa on your Mac, you must have Windows on the computer or use a Windows emulator. You can use Parallels, CrossOver, or Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows and be able to download and play Assetto Corsa on your Mac.

The Parallels method of getting Windows on a Mac is the one that’s recommended in most instances. The only real advantages of the Boot Camp method are that it is free to use the Boot Camp Assistant tool and that you can get away with having a bit weaker Mac and still be able to play the game you want (note that the Mac still needs to meet the minimum system requirements for the game).

Installing Windows with Parallels

  1. Get Parallels for macOS from the official site of Parallels and install it.
  2. Do either of the following:
    • For M1 Macs: download a Windows 11 VHDX file by first registering here with a Microsoft account, and then clicking the download link on this page.
    • For Intel Mac users: download a Windows 10 64-bit file from here.
  3. Create a Windows virtual machine using Parallels and the Windows file you downloaded in the previous step.
  4. Create a Parallels account, open the virtual machine, install Steam, and download Assetto Corsa from there.

You will find our full guide on using Parallels on this page.

Play Assetto Corsa on Mac with CrossOver

You can also play Assetto Corsa on Mac with CrossOver, which is a compatibility layer that allows Windows software to be run on macOS. To play Assetto Corsa on Mac with CrossOver, you must first install the app and then download the game within it.

Similarly to Parallels, CrossOver allows you to run Windows software directly in your macOS partition, which removes the need to install Windows in a separate partition using Boot Camp. This is great for M1 Mac users, as they don’t have the option to use Boot Camp. 

Another advantage of CrossOver is that it doesn’t work like a virtual machine, but instead simply translates Windows commands to macOS commands. This means that all of your Mac’s resources can be spent on the game, whereas, with Parallels, the resources your Mac can use for gaming are halved.

However, a downside of CrossOver is that the games you can run with it are much fewer than with any of the other options. Assetto Corsa, in particular, can be played with CrossOver on both Intel and M1 Macs, but you will need to do some tinkering before you could get it to run properly. 

Important note: Updates to both CrossOver and the game you want to play can make the instructions shown on this page incomplete or outright invalid. Additionally, getting any game to run through CrossOver largely depends on your specific setup. Therefore, even though the following instructions should work in most cases, it’s also possible to experience difficulties with starting the game in some situations. If that happens, feel free to hit us up in the comments, and we’ll do our best to assist you. 

  1. Download CrossOver from this page.
  2. Open the downloaded file and install the app.
  3. Launch CrossOver, click Bottle from the menu bar, and select New Bottle.
    Bottle Menu
  4. Give a name to the new bottle, make it compatible with Windows 10 64-bit, and select Create.
    New Bottle
  5. Select the newly-created bottle from the left, then click Install in the lower-left corner, search for Steam, and click on the app when you see it.
    Steam Search CrossOver
    Steam in CrossOver
  6. Click on Install and complete the on-screen prompts to get Steam installed.
    Install Steam
  7. Next, click the Steam icon, then click on Run Command from the right, and log in to your Steam account when the app launches.
    Run Command
  8. Now find the game in your Steam library, open its page, and click Install to install it in CrossOver.
  9. After the game is installed, go here, and download the ZIP file for the latest DXVK version – you will find the file in the Assets section.
  10. Open the downloaded file (it should appear like a folder) and access the x64 sub-folder that’s in it.
    dxvk update
  11. Next, go back to CrossOver, right-click the bottle where the game is installed, and select Open C: Drive.
    Open C: Drive
  12. After that, go to windows > system32, copy the contents of the 64x folder you opened in Step 10, paste it in the system32 folder, and click Replace for every file.
    Replace DXVK files
  13. Next, click on Install again, search for Net Framework 4.7.2, click on the app, then select the Install button. 
    CrossOver Net Framework
  14. Follow the prompts to complete the installation – this usually takes a while.
    CrossOver Net Framework Install
  15. After that, open Steam again in CrossOver, go to the game’s page, and click Play – it should launch without any issues, and you can begin playing.

If you are having problems with starting the game, here’s what we recommend trying:

  1. Download this ZIP file and open it.
  2. Then go to the Assetto Corsa bottle in CrossOver, click Open C: Drive, and navigate to Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/assetto corsa.
    Steam Folder in CrossOver
  3. Copy the contents of the ZIP file and place it in the assetto corsa folder.
  4. Back in CrossOver, click on Run Command, then click Browse, navigate to Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/assetto corsa, and run the Content Manager.exe app.
  5. When the app opens, click Change next to Assetto Corsa root folder, navigate to the game’s directory again, select it, and click Open.
    Assetto Corsa Content Manager
  6. Next, click Change next to Your Steam ID for online, and link your Steam account.
  7. Finally, click OK – this will open the Assetto Corsa Content Manager – an alternative interface that functions like the game’s menu and that usually works better with CrossOver. Using this should allow you to play Assetto Corsa through CrossOver without issues.

Installing Windows with Boot Camp Assistant

  1. Download the 64-bit ISO file for Windows 10 from here.
  2. Start Boot Camp Assistant (Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant), in it, navigate to the ISO Window 10 file, pick it for the installation, and allocate at least 150 GB to the Windows partition.
  3. Select the Install button and follow the on-screen prompts once your Mac restarts to begin the installation.
  4. Complete the Windows 10 customization process after Windows installs, then download any needed drivers, install Steam, and download Assetto Corsa from it.

For our full How to install Windows using Boot Camp Assistant, click on the link.

Play Assetto Corsa on Mac M1

You can run Assetto Corsa on Mac M1 with the help of any of the cloud-gaming platforms on which the game is available. If instead of cloud gaming, you want to download Assetto Corsa on your Mac M1, you will first need to install Windows.

Installing Windows on M1 Mac can only be done using virtualization software such as Parallels. The Boot Camp Assistant app is only available for Intel-based Macs, so this method of installing Windows cannot be used on M1 Macs. This isn’t a problem, however, since Parallels receives frequent updates that improve its Windows virtual machines and make them better optimized for gaming. The only downside is that you’d need a relatively powerful Mac in order to play games through Parallels, which shouldn’t be an issue for M1 Macs, since they have good specifications and hardware power.

Of course, cloud gaming is still an option for M1 Mac models, and it is still the quickest and easiest method of running Assetto Corsa, which is why we recommend it as long as your Internet connection is fast enough to support this type of service.