Mac gaming has always had a gap problem. Developers ship Windows first, Mac ports arrive 18 months later (or never), and the Apple Arcade catalog covers maybe 5% of what’s worth playing. Parallels Desktop closes that gap by running a full Windows ARM installation on Apple Silicon without rebooting. You launch Windows from the Dock, alt-tab in and out of games, and get access to most of the Steam catalog on hardware that was never supposed to run it.
We tested these games specifically on Parallels Desktop 20 running Windows 11 ARM on M-series Macs. Every pick here works without major setup headaches and has no native macOS version worth playing instead. If there’s a good Mac port, we left the game off the list.
What to look for in a game for Parallels
Not every Windows game runs well under virtualization. A few things to check before buying:
- Apple Silicon runs Windows ARM natively inside Parallels. x86 games go through Windows ARM’s built-in Prism emulation layer. M2 chips and later handle this fine; M1 users see more frame rate variance.
- Parallels translates DirectX 12 calls through Apple Metal. DX11 and DX12 games generally work. DX9-era titles run without issue.
- Parallels shares the Mac’s unified memory. Give the Windows VM at least 4 GB of GPU memory for modern 3D games; 8 GB is better.
- Kernel-level anti-cheat (Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye) blocks ARM emulation on some titles. Skip competitive multiplayer games with aggressive anti-cheat unless confirmed working.
- Windows needs 4–6 GB of RAM. A demanding game needs another 8–12 GB on top. 16 GB of Mac RAM is the practical minimum for comfortable play.
Quick comparison
| Game | Genre | Approx. price | Demanding? | Anti-cheat issue? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring | Action RPG | $59.99 | Medium | No (offline) |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | Action RPG | $59.99 | High | No |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | Open world | $59.99 | High | No |
| Deep Rock Galactic | Co-op shooter | $29.99 | Low | No (Steam only) |
| Palworld | Survival | $29.99 | Medium | No |
| Satisfactory | Factory builder | $35.99 | Medium | No |
| DOOM Eternal | FPS | $39.99 | Medium | No |
| Monster Hunter: World | Action RPG | $29.99 | Medium | No |
The games
1. Elden Ring — best overall
Elden Ring is the reason many Mac users install Parallels in the first place. FromSoftware has never shipped a macOS build of any title, and the studio’s track record strongly suggests they never will. The game spans an enormous open world with optional boss fights that rival the difficulty of any game in the last decade. Play it offline and the EAC anti-cheat system that blocks some ARM setups simply does not activate.
Performance on an M2 Pro with 16 GB of RAM at 1080p Medium settings sits in the 35–50 fps range. The experience is not perfectly smooth, but Elden Ring’s deliberate pacing means most of the game plays fine. Boss arenas with heavy particle effects will dip. Shadow of the Erdtree, the 2024 expansion, adds roughly 30 more hours.
Where it falls short: The frame-rate ceiling in Parallels means the game never feels quite as sharp as it does on a mid-range PC. Multiplayer co-op uses EAC and will likely block ARM emulation; stick to solo.
Pricing:
- Base game: $59.99
- Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: $39.99
- Complete bundle (frequent sale): ~$49.99
Bottom line: The single best argument for Parallels on a Mac. If you play only one game via virtualization, make it this one.
2. Deep Rock Galactic — best co-op pick
Deep Rock Galactic is a co-op cave-mining shooter where four dwarves clear bug-infested tunnels and extract minerals. It sounds niche and it became one of the most beloved co-op games of the last five years. The art style is deliberately stylized rather than photoreal, which keeps GPU demands low. On Parallels, it runs at a locked 60 fps on Medium settings even on M1.
The game is designed around 30–45 minute missions, which works well for laptop play. The developers at Ghost Ship Games ship regular free updates and the community is active. One caveat: the Steam version’s online multiplayer uses a peer-to-peer system without kernel-level anti-cheat, so co-op works without issue on Parallels.
Where it falls short: The early game is repetitive until you unlock more mission types and build up a loadout. The solo experience is fine but the game is clearly designed for groups.
Pricing:
- Base game: $29.99
- Season passes: free updates, cosmetic DLC optional
Bottom line: The best co-op game on this list and the easiest to run. A strong first Parallels purchase.
3. Satisfactory — best for long sessions
Satisfactory drops you on an alien planet and asks you to build a factory. That description sells it short. What the game actually is: a first-person construction game where you mine resources, automate production chains, and gradually industrialize a living ecosystem. Milestones gate progression, but the open-ended building system means every factory floor looks different.
It runs well on Parallels because it is more CPU-bound than GPU-bound during the early and mid-game. An M2 with 16 GB of RAM handles early factories at 60 fps without issue. Very late-game mega-factories with thousands of machines will stress any system, but you will play 50 hours before you get there.
Where it falls short: The game has no ending in the traditional sense. Players who need a clear finish line will bounce off the open-ended structure. Multiplayer uses Steam’s relay servers and works on Parallels, though the host’s machine carries the load.
Pricing:
- Base game: $35.99
- No paid DLC; free updates through the 1.0 launch
Bottom line: Factory builders have poor Mac representation, and Satisfactory is the best in the genre. Worth every hour.
4. DOOM Eternal — best performance-per-dollar
DOOM Eternal is the fastest game on this list and the one that punishes stutters the hardest. It is a high-speed arena shooter where movement and resource management matter as much as aim. The 2020 release has benefited from years of patches and its DX12 renderer works cleanly through Parallels’ Metal translation. On an M2, it hits a consistent 60 fps at 1080p High settings without fan noise becoming a problem.
id Software has not announced a macOS build in the five-plus years since launch. Given the studio’s history, one is unlikely to arrive. The base game plus both campaign expansions total around 40 hours.
Where it falls short: The skill floor is higher than most shooters. If you bounced off DOOM (2016), Eternal’s gear system and movement demands will not win you over. The game requires an internet connection on first launch to activate, though it plays offline afterward.
Pricing:
- Standard edition: $39.99
- Deluxe edition (includes DLC): $59.99
- Frequently discounted to $9.99 during Steam sales
Bottom line: Best frame rates on Parallels relative to what the game demands. Buy the Deluxe edition on sale and you’re paying less per hour than almost anything else here.
5. Palworld — best for survival fans
Palworld dropped in January 2024 and hit eight million players in its first week. The pitch is creature collection in an open survival world: catch Pals, assign them to automated base tasks, farm and craft and build while your Pals handle production. It earned notoriety for its design choices, but the gameplay loop works if you like survival-builder games.
Running on Parallels, Palworld performs well in the early and mid-game. The game’s art direction leans toward clean, readable visuals rather than dense foliage, which keeps GPU pressure manageable on Apple Metal. Expect 40–60 fps at medium settings on an M2 with dedicated GPU memory set to 4 GB.
Where it falls short: Early access means the content thins out at later stages. Some areas of the game feel unfinished. The Pocketpair legal situation with Nintendo was unresolved through late 2025 and may affect the game’s future.
Pricing:
- Early access: $29.99
- No paid DLC as of 2026
Bottom line: If survival builders are your genre, Palworld delivers well over 50 hours before the content runs thin. Best played co-op on a dedicated server.
6. Monster Hunter: World — best value for hours played
Monster Hunter: World launched in 2018 and still sells because nothing has fully replaced it. You hunt progressively larger monsters, harvest parts, craft better gear, and use that gear to hunt larger monsters. Capcom’s formula is repetitive by design, and that repetition is the point. The Iceborne expansion doubles the content.
On Parallels, World runs better than its age suggests. The DX11 renderer is mature and Parallels handles it without notable translation overhead. Even M1 users report 60 fps at Medium-High settings on 1080p. It is the safest bet on this list for consistent performance.
The sequel, Monster Hunter Wilds, launched in February 2025 and is far more demanding. It will run on Parallels with lowered settings, but World remains the better Parallels experience for now.
Where it falls short: The UI is dense and the tutorial is long. The first 10 hours are slower than the rest of the game. Stick through it.
Pricing:
- Base game: $29.99
- Iceborne expansion: $39.99
- Master Edition (both): $59.99, frequently on sale
Bottom line: 200+ hours for $59.99 on sale and it runs on any M-series chip. Get the Master Edition.
7. Red Dead Redemption 2 — best open world
Red Dead Redemption 2 has no Mac version and Rockstar has not announced one. The game puts you in the American frontier of 1899 and gives you one of the most detailed open worlds ever built. You can spend an entire session just riding through Montana analogues and watching weather systems roll in. The main story runs around 60 hours.
On Parallels it demands the most out of this list. An M3 with 16 GB of RAM runs the game at 1080p Low-Medium settings around 30–40 fps. It’s playable and the visual fidelity even at low settings is high. The GPU benchmark built into the launcher is a reliable way to calibrate settings for your specific Parallels configuration.
Where it falls short: This is the heaviest game on the list. M1 users will struggle. Online mode (Red Dead Online) uses Rockstar’s own anti-cheat and may not work on Parallels. The offline story mode runs without issue.
Pricing:
- Standard edition: $59.99
- Ultimate edition: $79.99
- Frequently on sale for $19.99–$29.99
Bottom line: The best open-world narrative on this list. Play it on an M3 or later for the smoothest Parallels experience.
8. Cyberpunk 2077 — best narrative RPG
Cyberpunk 2077 is the most technically demanding game here, and also the most rewarding for players who want a story-driven experience. Night City is dense and detailed, the writing after years of patches is strong, and the Phantom Liberty expansion (2023) added a full second act. CD Projekt Red has never announced a macOS port.
At 1080p Low settings, an M2 Pro with 16 GB of RAM runs the game at 35–50 fps depending on the area. Dense city streets with traffic are harder than indoor sections. Turn off ray tracing entirely in the Parallels VM. Frame rates climb considerably once it’s disabled.
Where it falls short: Still the heaviest DX12 title on this list by raw GPU draw. You will not replicate the high-fidelity experience on a native Windows gaming PC, but the game holds up visually even at lower settings. Some shader compilation stutters appear early on each new area.
Pricing:
- Base game: $59.99
- Phantom Liberty DLC: $29.99
- Complete bundle: $69.99
Bottom line: The most ambitious narrative RPG on the list. Requires an M2 or later and lower settings, but worth the compromise.
How to pick the right one
- If you want something that just works without tuning settings: Deep Rock Galactic. Install, launch, play.
- If you want a prestige single-player experience: Elden Ring for challenge, Red Dead Redemption 2 for story, Cyberpunk 2077 for narrative depth.
- If you have an M1 Mac with 16 GB: Stick to Deep Rock Galactic, Satisfactory, and DOOM Eternal. Skip RDR2 and Cyberpunk until you upgrade.
- If you have an M3 or M4 Mac: All eight games are playable. Start with Elden Ring or Red Dead Redemption 2.
- If you want something to play for 200+ hours: Monster Hunter: World with Iceborne. The formula is designed for exactly that.
- If you already tried Parallels and found games too slow: Check that Windows has access to at least 8 GB of RAM in Parallels settings and that GPU memory is set to at least 4 GB under Display settings.
FAQ
Does Parallels Desktop support gaming on Mac?
Yes. Parallels Desktop 20 supports DirectX 12 via Apple Metal translation and runs Windows 11 ARM on M-series Macs without rebooting. Games designed for DX11 and DX12 generally work. Performance depends on the game’s demands and your Mac’s chip generation, with M2 being a practical floor for most 3D games.
Do games with anti-cheat run on Parallels?
It depends on the anti-cheat system. Kernel-level anti-cheat (Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye) blocks ARM virtualization in many multiplayer games. Single-player games, and co-op titles that use less aggressive systems, work without issue. Every game on this list was selected partly because the relevant modes do not hit this wall.
How much RAM does my Mac need for Parallels gaming?
16 GB minimum for comfortable gaming. Windows ARM needs 6–8 GB, and a demanding game needs another 8–12 GB. If you’re on an M1 with 8 GB, games will technically launch but will pull frequently from swap memory, causing stutters.
Is Parallels better for gaming than Boot Camp on Apple Silicon?
Boot Camp does not exist on Apple Silicon Macs. Microsoft’s official Boot Camp ended with Intel Macs. On M-series hardware, Parallels is currently the only way to run Windows natively without third-party workarounds. The performance is better than most people expect for single-player games.
What graphics settings should I use for Parallels gaming?
Medium or lower for most games. Turn off ray tracing entirely. Disable anti-aliasing or use the lowest quality option. Set resolution to 1080p rather than scaling to your display’s native resolution from inside the VM. These three changes improve frame rates more than anything else.
