With CS2 being released, many macOS users were hoping to play the new first-person shooter from Valve. However, there is no official support for Apple's operating system, and there won't be one. But, there is a workaround for Mac users so that they can still play CS2.
CS2 is here, at least on Windows, and it has been quite underwhelming for a lot of players. The mixed reviews show that the game isn't as good as people had hoped for. And especially for macOS users this is the case.
No Counter-Strike 2 For MacOS Users, Kind Of
Counter-Strike 2 is well-supported on Windows, there are only minor troubles for Linus users, but there is still one big operating system missing, MacOS. Users with a PC or laptop from tech giant Apple could play CS:GO without problems (if their hardware could handle the game). But it seems like the Apple users won't have access to CS2. This was found in the r/macgaming subreddit.
If you try to download Counter-Strike 2 from the Steam Store, you'll see that CS2 is only supported for Windows and Steam. All previous Counter-Strike versions that are on Steam (Source, 1.6, Condition Zero and CS:GO) were or are still supported for MacOS. Yet, Counter-Strike 2 isn't.
Is CS2 For MacOS On The Way?
After a blog post on October 9, we now know that CS2 won't feature on macOS. Valve stated:
As technology advances, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue support for older hardware, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems. Similarly, we will no longer support macOS. Combined, these represented less than one percent of active CS:GO players. Moving forward, Counter-Strike 2 will exclusively support 64-bit Windows and Linux.
Valve didn't forget about macOS, they just didn't care about the players having an Apple device. MacOS players won't be able to experience the joy of CS2, which is a shame, to be honest.
Those players can now play the Legacy Version of CS:GO until January 1, when it will slowly disintegrate. But there is a workaround.
How You Can Play CS2 With A MacOS Operating System
To play Counter-Strike 2 on your Mac, you can use a program called CrossOver. It's like a magic tool that makes Windows games work on your Mac. Here's how to do it:
- Get CrossOver: First, you need to get CrossOver. It costs $74.00, but you can also try it for free to see if you like it. This is way cheaper than buying a whole new Windows computer.
- Check Your Mac: Make sure you have macOS Ventura or Sonoma on your Mac. It works on both Apple Silicon and Intel processors. The people who made CrossOver tested the game on these, and it worked.
- Install Counter-Strike 2: Go to the CrossOver program and look for Counter-Strike 2. Then, click "install." But be sure you have the latest CrossOver version, which is 23.6. That's what you need to make the game work.
While it is a bit of a hustle and surely much more expensive than mac players would've expected, it is the only way to play CS2 on mac at this point in time. It's really sad that Valve hasn't made a macOS version of CS2.
Here's a quick video on the new ranking system for matchmaking: