Mar 20, 2020 Looking for the best free games for Mac? After testing 40+ games, these are our Top 20 free Mac games. It includes games from every genre and games ranging from completely free open-source games to very generous online, free-to-play games.
Chances are you too are stuck at home. And I can tell you, here in France, things are escalating quickly. As most countries are unfortunately in the same boat, I hope you are safe and are taking the necessary precautions to stay safe!
In the meantime, we’re going to have a bunch of time to kill at home and what better way to do it than with a few Mac games!
| Games | Name | About | Metascore | Release date | Genre | Free games only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civilization 6 | In Civ 6, you take control of a civilization and lead it through the course of history. You get to research technologies, create a religion, build trade routes, an army, and more. Opportunities and strategies are endless, making this game extremely addictive. We’ve all been there. You just need to build one last archer before going to bed and it’s suddenly 3 AM and you need to finish that last tank. Civilization 6 also introduced city-planning for the first time. And if that wasn’t enough, the Gathering Storm expansion introduces more units, civilizations, and brand-new mechanics. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2016 | Strategy | No | ||
Shooter | Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | Counter-Strike practically gave birth to the competitive FPS scene and is responsible for most of the LAN parties that took place in the 90s. That was a long time ago, but Counter-Strike has managed to evolve and remain relevant. In 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive expanded upon the team-based gameplay it pioneered with new maps, characters, weapons, and its extremely solid gameplay. And now that the game is free-to-play and includes Danger Zone, a brand-new battle royale mode, CS: GO is a must for anyone remotely interested in shooters. No wonder it broke the one million concurrent players record! ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2012 | Shooter | Yes | |
| Football Manager 2020 | The best football simulation game is back, bringing refinements and new features. Football Manager (FM) puts you in charge of any squad from more than 50 countries across the world. As the team’s manager, you get to decide who plays, how they train, how to manage the stadium, and even how to deal with the media. FM 2020 builds on the strengths of its excellent predecessor to offer the best football manager experience so far. Sure, the most recent Fifa game is not available on Mac, but if you truly love the beautiful game, Football Manager 2020 can scratch that itch. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2020 | Simulation | No | ||
Strategy | XCOM 2 Collection | XCOM 2 is a turn-based strategy game that continues the story of the original XCOM. Humans lost the war against the aliens and the remaining survivors have to live under their rule. The future is grim and the only hope is the tiny resistance army, which you’ll lead. Vanilla XCOM 2 is an excellent game as is, but the War of the Chosen expansion, included in the Collection, makes it infinitely better. In fact, War of the Chosen is so big, developer Firaxis thought it would become XCOM 3. Many call it the ultimate XCOM experience and once you try it, you’ll understand. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2018 | Strategy | No | |
| Oxygen Not Included | Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation from the creators of Don’t Starve and Mark of the Ninja. Downloaded by more than 1.5 million players, the game has come a long way since it went into Alpha in February 2017. You’ll need to research the technology to combat hostile aliens, develop infrastructure, keep the colonists happy and sane, and—as is implied by the title—continue to provide the resources necessary for survival. With some careful planning (and a little luck), you may just help your colony thrive in this hostile environment. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2019 | Simulation | No | ||
Role-Playing | Divinity: Original Sin 2 | Divinity: Original Sin became an instant classic when it was released in 2015. Divinity: Original Sin 2 brings back the deep turn-based combat, multiplayer campaigns, and complex story, and adds some exciting new features. Up to four players can adventure together online or locally via split-screen, the AI has been updated to be even more devious, and exploration has been opened up to provide countless ways to interact with characters, animals and the environment. Developed in partnership with Apple's Metal Engineering Team, Original Sin 2 features advanced MacOS-only features such as touch bar support and iCloud saves! ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2019 | Role-Playing | No | |
| RimWorld | A single-player, sci-fi survival game, RimWorld has you attempting to keep alive the survivors of an interstellar shipwreck on an alien world, though you might not want to keep some of your fellow survivors alive. Individual personalities are a big part of this game. You’ll move from basic survival to building a modern colony and protecting it from raiders and the native lifeforms. RimWorld provides an almost overwhelming amount of detail you can tweak and there are multiple approaches you can take. Trade, fight, survive, be destroyed, repeat. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2018 | Simulation | No | ||
Simulation | Plague Inc: Evolved | Plague Inc: Evolved is a unique mix of high strategy and terrifyingly realistic simulation. Your pathogen has just infected 'Patient Zero' - now you must bring about the end of human history by evolving a deadly, global Plague whilst adapting against everything humanity can do to defend itself. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2016 | Simulation | No | |
| Total War: Three Kingdoms | The Total War franchise continues its quest across time and the globe, this time stopping in ancient China. Fans can expect the same tried-and-true mixture of turn-based strategy and real-time battles as they set out to become emperor. Become one of 12 legendary warlords and build up your armies, technology, and economy through research, politics, and conquest. Do you have what it takes to create the next dynasty? If not, at least you’ll get to experience the best visuals and gameplay the series has seen yet. With some calling it 'the Best Total War Game in a Decade', you will want to check out Three Kingdoms. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2019 | Strategy | No | ||
MMO | The Elder Scrolls Online | The Elder Scrolls Online is the latest big MMORPG to join the party. It's also the first Elder Scrolls to come to macOS and the first to attempt multiplayer. This created impossibly high expectations that made the game suffer at launch. But that was in 2014, when the game required an upfront purchase and a monthly subscription. A lot has changed since. Relaunched as Tamriel Unlimited, it introduced lots of new features and changed for the better. The monthly subscription disappeared, and now you only need to buy the game once. At the end of the day, this game is similar to World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2014 | MMO | No | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 | One of the most ambitious Call of Duty games ever, Black Ops 3 takes us 40 years further into the future to a world ravaged by climate change and unchecked technologies. The game features a four-player campaign mode with features such as cybernetic enhancements, a one-shot-kill “realistic” difficulty mode, and an unlockable “nightmare” mode featuring a new narrative and plenty of zombies. If you’re more into multiplayer, there are plenty of enhancements and new features on that side, as well. And even better, you can purchase the Multiplayer Starter Pack if that’s all you’re interested in. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2019 | Shooter | No | ||
Racing | DiRT 4 | Brought to Mac by Feral Interactive, DiRT 4 is the latest rally game from Codemasters available on MacOS. This latest entry in the rally racing series provides over 50 cars to drive as you tear across thrilling tracks in Australia, Spain, Wales, and more. Each and every one of them looking and running great thanks to Feral Interactive‘s top-notch Mac port. And with the new system called Your Stage, players can generate a countless number of unique stages with the press of a button. It’s even smart enough to generate routes based on your skill level. Career mode and daily, weekly, and month-long challenges will keep you racing for quite some time. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2019 | Racing | No | |
| Slay the Spire | What happens when you fuse a collectible cards game with a roguelike? You get Slay the Spire, a single-player deck builder from Mega Crit Games. Build your deck and use your cards wisely as you battle your way to the top of a spire that changes each time you play. Slay the Spire contains over 250 cards, over 150 unique items to find and use in your quests, and an impressive host of unique encounters, boss battles, and events along the way. And if that’s not enough, the game’s custom mode allows hardcore players to mix and match various crazy-run modifiers. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2019 | Collectible Card | No | ||
Action | Cuphead | Cuphead became an instant indie classic. Mashing excellent run and gun gameplay with a beautiful art style (the game looks straight out of a cartoon from the 1930s), Studio MDHR achieved something special. But don’t get fooled by the cute graphics, this is one punishing game. So much so that some compare it with Dark Souls. And did we mention Cuphead is also a great multiplayer game you can play on co-op with a friend? One more thing… Cuphead is the perfect choice for MacBook gamers: no compromises are required. This is a modern game with graphics that look great but still run smoothly on older machines. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2018 | Action | No | |
| Rise of the Tomb Raider | Rise of the Tomb Raider is the sequel to the stellar Tomb Raider reboot from 2013. Starring the young archaeologist Lara Croft, this action-adventure game takes place one year after her adventure in Yamatai. This time, Lara sets out to the lost city of Kitezh to recover the Divine Source, an ancient artifact with the power to grant immortality. With a focus on combat and survival, this game plays a lot like its predecessor. And that’s a good thing. Rise of the Tomb Raider improves and refines everything that made the original great while adding more systems to play with. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2018 | Action | No | ||
Action | Dead Cells | Dead Cells is an action-platformer that many have called the best Castlevania game in years. In Dead Cells, there are no checkpoints and you’ll have to get comfortable with dying… a lot. You’ll get plenty of weapons to help you on your way, and each time you die will be an opportunity to explore more, improve your skills and acquire new abilities. The 2D retro-inspired world will make fans of classic Castlevania and Metroid feel right at home, but don’t think Dead Cells is just another retro knock-off. This is an indie with tight controls, smooth animations, and great art-style. So prepare to experience both frustration and triumph across 16 to 20 hours of platformer action. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2018 | Action | No | |
| Cities: Skylines | In Cities: Skylines you'll create a city from scratch: build roads and infrastructure; supply energy and water; control zoning; provide public services, public transportation, parks, and more. It can be overwhelming, but Cities: Skylines also helps you along, keeping things hidden until your city reaches a certain size and your citizens demand them. Keep your citizens happy and your city will thrive and grow. Cities: Skylines goes a step further than SimCity and adds challenges, huge maps, and a traffic simulation so smart it’s scary. Even better, Colossal continues to provide excellent support with free and paid updates on a regular basis. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2015 | Strategy | No | ||
Adventure | Stardew Valley | One of the hottest indie titles ever released, this pixel-graphic farming sim continues to add major updates years after its initial release, including the addition of cooperative multiplayer. In Stardew Valley you inherit a dormant farm from your grandfather and start clearing land, planting crops, raising animals and more. Stardew Valley includes RPG elements such as crafting and the ability to level up your abilities and unlock new areas to explore. You’ll also meet other residents and have the chance to help rebuild the decaying town. There’s so much more to Stardew Valley, including the ability to woo and marry NPCs, that you may never discover all the game has to offer. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2016 | Adventure | No | |
| Dota 2 | In spite of being 6 years old now, the free-to-play MOBA from Valve is stronger than ever. In fact, Dota 2 is currently the second most played game in the world, with 450,000 concurrent players in one day. The sequel to the infamous mod, Defense of the Ancients (DotA), Dota 2 pits two teams of five players against each other. Each team has to defend its own base while trying to destroy the enemy's base. You’re in control of a “hero” with unique abilities, and with more than one hundred to chose from, mastering your hero while playing as a team is a real challenge. This explains why MOBAs are so hard to master and why their community is so demanding. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2013 | MOBA | Yes | ||
MMO | War Thunder | A newer entry in the WWII genre formerly dominated by World War II Online, War Thunder also includes the Korean War era in its air and land combat options. With a huge number of available planes, tanks, and even navy vessels, War Thunder offers anything your heart could desire for mid-20th-century combat. War Thunder features full-scale PvP battles, historical campaigns in PvE, a large number of solo missions, and cooperative multiplayer. Plus it’s cross-platform on MacOS, Windows, Linux, and PS4. ✅ Now updated to 64-bit and supports Catalina! | 2013 | MMO | Yes |
PS: Some great Mac games had to be ignored because this list only focuses on Mac games available on Steam (for example Borderlands 3 could not be included as its Mac version is only available on Epic games).
Why Steam?
Steam is by far the biggest gaming platform in the World. Just a few days ago, I broke yet another record: 20 Million concurrent players.
On top of that, it’s the place with the most Mac games available. 10,543 Mac games at the time of this writing.
But as Steam Spy founder, Sergey Galyonkin, pointed out, too many new Steam games get released each year:
This is as exciting as it is worrying. On the one hand, this explains the explosion of new Mac and Linux games, and as I said before, this gives gamers more choice.
On the other hand, the quality of games available is suffering. Think about it. Is it really possible most of the 10,000+ games on Steam are all good? Some were great, but most were mediocre, and a few were terrible.
I tend to agree with the critics and believe Steam should do something to better curate the games it accepts. Why? Because you may not be obliged to buy a game, but the more crappy games there are, the harder it becomes to find the true gems.
In the meantime, this list should help you find the right Mac game for you. Do you have another Steam-enabled Mac game that you love?
If so, let us know in the comments section.