5 Ways to Play Path of Exile 2 on Mac

Path of Exile 2 just dropped its beta, and like a lot of people, I wanted to jump in – on a Mac. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t support macOS natively. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. I tried a bunch of workarounds and in this guide, I’ll break them down.

Can You Play Path of Exile 2 on Mac?

Short answer: not natively. There’s no official Mac version of Path of Exile 2, and based on how things are going, I wouldn’t hold my breath. But that didn’t stop me from trying. I went through a bunch of different methods – some cloud-based, some local installs – and while none of them are perfect, there are a few solid ways to make the game run on macOS.

Boosteroid was easily the most balanced for me. It’s a cloud gaming platform that’s improved a lot in the past year. It’s stable, offers 4K and 120 fps support, and the pricing is way more reasonable than something like GeForce NOW. The downside? Server availability can vary depending on where you are.

GeForce NOW is similar. Technically better infrastructure, more premium overall – but also more expensive. It also gives you 4K and 120 fps, but honestly, Boosteroid gets you there cheaper.

Then there’s CrossOver. If you’re looking to play the game locally, this is the best bet. It uses translation layers to run Windows games on macOS, and performance is surprisingly decent if you’ve got a strong Apple Silicon Mac.

Whisky is like CrossOver’s scrappy cousin – free, kind of janky, and no longer officially supported. It still works, but it’s clearly on its way out.

Bootcamp? Only for Intel Macs, and honestly, only the beefy ones. If you’re rocking an older Intel Mac without a discrete GPU, don’t even bother – cloud gaming is a better bet.

Click here for a more detailed breakdown of all the methods.

	Boosteroid and GFN	CrossOver	Whisky	BootCamp
Requirements	≥ 15 Mbps Internet speed (Boosteroid) ≥ 25 Mbps Internet speed (GFN)	Apple M1 Pro (or better); 16 GB RAM (or more)	Apple M1 Pro (or better); 16 GB RAM (or more)	Maxed-out 2019 iMac or Mac Pro with dedicated GPUs
Must Own Game	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Supported game stores	Steam	Steam	Steam	Steam
Ease of Use	1/5 – 🍼 Child’s Play	4/5 – 🧩 Moderate Challenge	3/5 – 🎯 Some Focus Required	3/5 – 🎯 Some Focus Required
Time to Set Up	~ 10 min	~ 20-30 min	~ 30-40 min	~ 1-2 hours
Performance	4/5 – near native expereince	4/5 – near native expereince	4/5 – near native expereince	1/5 – only a minuscule percentage of Intel Macs can run it
Stability	4/5 – only minor hiccups	4/5 – only minor hiccups	3/5 – a bit finicky	5/5 – very stable with powerful enough Macs

Now let’s move on to how to use those methods.

How to Play Path of Exile 2 on Mac

Alright, so here’s how I actually got Path of Exile 2 running on my Mac using each of these methods. I’ll walk you through the steps I followed, what worked, what didn’t, and any weird little things I ran into along the way. Some of these are surprisingly smooth, others take a bit more fiddling, but I’ll break it all down so you know exactly what to expect before diving in. Let’s go method by method.

Play Path of Exile 2 With Boosteroid

How to Play Path of Exile 2 on Mac With Boosteroid

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Click the Boosteroid button above. Create an account or sign up with Google.
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Go to your profile page(top-right), click Subscribe, select a preferred plan, and start your subscription.
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Search for “Path of Exile 2”, choose your preferred version of the game (Steam, Epic, etc.) and click Play (or Install and Play).
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Click OK, Let’s go, and wait for the game to load.
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Log into your game store account. Path of Exile 2 will launch directly in your browser.

Play Path of Exile 2 With GeForce Now

How to Play Path of Exile 2 on Mac With GFN

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Click the GeForce Now link → Join Now → sign up for your preferred plan.
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Go to the Downloads page. Download GeForce Now for macOS.
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Double-click the installer. Drag the app to your Applications folder.
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Launch GFN and log in.
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Click the menu in the top left → Settings → connect your respective game store account.
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Click the menu again → Games → search for Path of Exile 2, and click Play.
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Wait for the connection test. If you get a weak connection warning, you can ignore it by clicking Continue and still play the game.
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Wait for the game to load and start playing.

Play Path of Exile 2 With CrossOver

How to Play Path of Exile 2 on Mac With CrossOver

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Click the CrossOver button, download the app (the free 14-day trial or the paid version), and install it.
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Open CrossOver → Bottle (top-left) → New Bottle → Create (Windows 10, 64-bit compatibility).
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Right-click the new bottle → Install Software → search for Steam and install it.
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Open Steam, log in, search for Path of Exile 2 in your library, and install it.
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After it installs, exit Steam, enable E-Sync, and D3DMetal, and Reboot the bottle.
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Start Steam again and launch Path of Exile 2 from your library.

Play Path of Exile 2 With Whisky

How to Download Path of Exile 2 on Mac With Whisky

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Click the Whisky button above and download the latest version.
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Double-click the downloaded .zip file and drag and drop the extracted Whisky to your Applications folder.
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Start Whisky. Click Open when asked to confirm the action. Click Next to install.
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Select Create a Bottle and create one with Windows 10 compatibility.
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Open this Steam page and click the Windows logo (under Install Steam) to download the Windows version.
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In Whisky, click Open C: drive. Drag and drop the SteamSetup.exe file into C:.
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Click Run in Whisky, find SteamSetup.exe, open it, and follow the prompts.
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When Steam installs, log in and click Allow when asked if you want the application to accept incoming connections.
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In Steam, find Path of Exile 2, click Install, and launch the game when its ready.

How to Run Path of Exile 2 on Mac With Bootcamp

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Head to Microsoft’s official site and download the latest Windows 10 ISO file.
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Next, open Boot Camp Assistant (found in Applications > Utilities), click Continue → Choose, pick your downloaded Windows ISO file, then click Open.
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Adjust the slider to give your Windows partition at least 50 GB storage, then click Install → Next.
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The installation begins. Follow the prompts, skip the product key prompt by selecting “I don’t have a product key”, then finish setting up Windows as guided.
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Once Windows is installed and set up, download Steam, install it, and use it to download Path of Exile 2. Once that’s done, you are ready to play.

Path of Exile 2 on Mac – Performance

If you’re trying to figure out which method actually feels good to play, this is where things get interesting. I tested each option on my own Mac to see how well Path of Exile 2 runs – frame rates, input delay, visual quality, the whole deal. Some methods surprised me in a good way, others… not so much. If you want to know which one’s worth your time (and which one isn’t), here’s what I found during real-world gameplay.

Streaming Path of Exile 2 on MacBook With Boosteroid

I tested Path of Exile 2 on both Boosteroid and GeForce NOW, and both worked surprisingly well – once I got the setup right. Boosteroid was the one I ended up using the most.

It gave me stable 4K at 60 FPS without any noticeable input delay, and I didn’t have to pay extra for that resolution, which was a huge plus. Just make sure your connection is wired or at least on strong 50 Mbps Wi-Fi, and keep your ping under 20 ms if possible.

GeForce NOW also delivered smooth performance, especially on higher-end settings, but the 4K option requires a pricier subscription. Still, it handled the game really well with minimal latency.

Both services require you to own the game on Steam or another supported platform, and setup was pretty straightforward – log in, launch, and you’re in. If you’ve got a good connection, either service will let you play without touching your Mac’s hardware.

Running Path of Exile 2 on Mac With CrossOver and Whisky

I tested Path of Exile 2 on my Apple M4 Max using CrossOver, and the performance honestly surprised me. The game ran at around 88 FPS at 2560×1440 resolution, using Rosetta with DirectX 12 translation.

Memory usage sat just under 10 GB, with around 5.9 GB dedicated to the game process, and I didn’t run into major frame drops or instability during regular gameplay. CrossOver handled the translation layer well – render calls were steady, and while this isn’t native-level performance, it’s close enough that I forgot I was using a compatibility tool.

If you’re on a base M1 or M2 MacBook Air, expect lower FPS, especially at higher resolutions – probably closer to 30-45 FPS depending on in-game settings and thermals. On an M3 Pro or M2 Max, you’ll likely get smoother 60+ FPS gameplay, but you may need to scale down resolution to maintain stability.

Whisky, which I also tried briefly, ran the game – but it was jankier. It stuttered more, and I wouldn’t trust it for long sessions. It’s no longer officially supported, and that really shows. If you’re serious about playing the game locally, CrossOver is clearly the better option – especially if you’re running Apple Silicon with some muscle behind it.

Download Path of Exile 2 on Mac With BootCamp – Is It Even Worth It?

If you’re still using an Intel-based Mac and thinking about Bootcamp, Path of Exile 2 might run – but only on very specific hardware.

You’ll need a high-end Intel Mac with a dedicated GPU, like a 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019 with a Radeon Pro 5500M or better.

Even then, expect mid-tier performance – maybe 30-50 FPS at 1080p on medium settings. The game’s minimum specs demand a GPU with 3GB VRAM and a quad-core CPU, which rules out most older or entry-level Intel Macs.

Bootcamp could work in a pinch, but it’s not ideal and is basically obsolete going forward. For most Intel users, cloud gaming with Boosteroid or GeForce NOW will deliver a much smoother and less frustrating experience – no partitioning, no Windows updates, just launch and play.

Path of Exile 2 on Mac – Conclusion

So yeah – Path of Exile 2 isn’t on Mac natively, but that doesn’t mean you’re locked out. After testing everything myself, I’d say cloud gaming is the easiest win.

Boosteroid’s the sweet spot for price and performance, while GeForce NOW is solid if you don’t mind paying more.

CrossOver is great if you’ve got a beefy Apple Silicon Mac and want to run things locally.

Bootcamp? Only if you’re clinging to a high-end Intel Mac. Whisky? Use at your own risk. Either way, there’s a path forward. Pick the method that fits your setup – and dive in.