Macs have come a long way when it comes to gaming. True gamers used to avoid Macs at all costs for their limited and inferior releases. Now, however, more and more great games are being ported to the OS, making the Mac a more viable option than ever.
There are even a lot of great multiplayer Mac games available! If you’ve got a Mac and you’re looking for something to play with your friends, worry no more. You’ve got plenty of options.
Here are the best multiplayer games on Mac.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a retro-inspired farming simulator made largely by one person, Eric Barone. It’s a love letter to games like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing.
Terraria has a very large community as it is a very popular game. Released on just about every platform including mobile, PC/Mac/Linux, consoles, it allows for anyone to play no matter their prefered device. This also means that with many players comes many servers to.
In Stardew Valley you grow crops, start relationships, and even fight monsters. The best part is, the game is now entirely multiplayer!
In 2019, Barone’s company ConcernedApe updated the game to include multiplayer. In multiplayer, you can start a farm with up to three other friends. You’ll share the land, plant crops, create your own relationships, and use teamwork to make a profit.
There are no restrictions on the multiplayer in Stardew Valley. If you can do it in single-player, you can do it in multiplayer. There’s nothing quite as fun as tackling the increasingly difficult levels of the mine together.
Deciding who gets the best of the loot is a whole other story.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
If you’re an RPG lover, it doesn’t get much better than Divinity: Original Sin 2.
This vast RPG features a lot of multiplayer modes, including a co-op campaign and PVP fights. The game plays kind of like Dungeons & Dragons. Explore a huge fantasy world, take quests, and go through turn-based combat situations.
It’s challenging, it’s fun, and it’s a truly unique multiplayer experience. You and your team will have to work together to succeed in challenging fights. Then, you’ll have to try your hardest to work together when splitting up all that glorious loot.
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 may be over 10 years old, but it’s still one of the best multiplayer experiences, period. It’s definitely one of the best experiences you’ll get gaming on a Mac.
In Left 4 Dead 2, up to four players work together to take out oncoming hordes of zombies. There are both survival maps and a swathe of campaigns, all of which are fully multiplayer. It’s a fast, frantic, and satisfying FPS zombie game that still sees tons of players each month.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as blowing a zombie’s head off with a shotgun. That feeling only doubles when you’ve got friends to help you out.
Rocket League
If you’re an e-sports kind of person, give Rocket League a go.
Rocket League is like soccer but with cars. Two teams of three go head-to-head in an arena trying to score as many points as possible. You can collect boosts around the map, drive up the walls, and blow other players up by driving into them.
Multiplayer is the only real way to play Rocket League. Team up with a few friends, or face-off in an ultimate showdown. It’s frustrating, it’s fun, and if you play enough it may even win you some money!
Counter-Strike: GO
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular multiplayer FPS games ever. Think Call of Duty but faster and more skill-based.
Counter-Strike: GO features a variety of game modes, including deathmatches and hostage rescues. A battle royale mode was even added to the mix recently! That makes for a lot of different ways to play with your friends.
Free Multiplayer Games Mac
The best way to play CS: GO is with friends. Strategizing goes a long way to bring you to victory, especially in the teams of two modes. In these it’s just you and your teammate against other teams of two, making cooperation absolutely necessary for success.
There’s a reason Counter-Strike: GO is consistently at the top of Steam’s most-played games list.
Minecraft
Is any list of multiplayer games complete without Minecraft?
Minecraft is available on just about every platform out there, including Mac. Join up with a couple of friends and explore a never-ending world of things to do. Mine for ore, build incredible buildings, defend villages from ravaging pillagers — what you do is up to you!
Minecraft is all about survival, imagination, and collecting. If you just want to build crazy inventions with your friends, try out creative mode!
And if you get tired of the survival aspect of the game, try out the variety of multiplayer servers. These offer alternative game modes, including the very popular Minecraft Hunger Games.
It’s exactly what it sounds like — a recreation of the Hunger Games on custom-made maps. There are co-op variations of this if you want to team up with your friends, or you can go head-to-head with them for glory and bragging rights. However you choose to play Minecraft, you’re going to have a great time.
Civilization VI
The latest in Sid Meier’s Civilization series offers a fantastic multiplayer component. Each player starts with a single settler unit and builds up and empire from scratch. Then, you can either form an alliance and take over the world, or fight for dominance from beginning to end.
Civilization VI is a long and thought-provoking game full of strategy and variety. You have to make your choices wisely to end up on top, otherwise you face being nuked out of existence. That’s something your friends definitely won’t let you forget about.
If you’re a fan of Risk and have a craving for world domination, look no further than Civilization VI.
Multiplayer Mac Games Galore
These are just some of the best multiplayer Mac games available right now. Whether you’re looking for the chill vibes of Stardew Valley or a frantic shooter like Counter-Strike, the Mac has you covered. Don’t let anyone tell you the Mac isn’t a great way to game ever again!
For more on gaming, technology, and film, check out the rest of our blog. Contact us with any comments or questions.
Mac is an excellent platform for productivity. Still, one area that you might struggle with is finding online games to play on Mac. The platform doesn’t have as many games as Windows. This is interesting since iOS is actually the best platform for mobile gaming.
It doesn’t mean that you won’t have plenty of great options, though. We’ve compiled a list here of the best Mac Online games. From MOBAs to first-person shooters to 4X Strategy, there’s a Mac game here for everyone. Let’s read on and find out which one is for you.
#1. ARK: Survival Evolved
This is a personal favorite. ARK, as the name suggests is a multiplayer survival online game. You’re set alone on an island populated by giant dinosaurs and other players. You have to build everything from a fire to defense to household structures from scratch. You mine the surroundings for resources like Minecraft but you have to be watchful for enemies people and dinosaur alike.
This is a very intensive game. Make sure your Mac has the latest graphics drivers installed. And you’ll have the best experience if you run it on a Mac with a discrete graphics card. While this is an online game, keep in mind that it’s a premium title. With the amount of content, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth, though.
Price: $17.49
Platforms: macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch
Download
#2. Rocket League
This online game is perfect for you if you’re looking for a mix of sports and car combat. Rocket League is an easy concept to explain: You’re playing football, but with turbo-powered rocket cars instead of players. Thanks to its competitive sports origin, Rocket League runs great on a wide range of Macs. It’s a premium game, but with a low price, so it’s not much of an outlay. The game is available on a wide range of platforms including Mac, so you’ll never have trouble finding other players.
Price: $19.99
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Linux
Download
#3. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike is an absolute FPS classic. Almost everyone has played a match of Counter-Strike: GO or Counter-Strike 1.6 at one point of time or the other. As the Source engine update to the classic, it looks alright but runs on literally any system. It doesn’t matter if you have a $5000 Mac Pro or a previous-gen Macbook Air. This is one online game that has no trouble running on anything. If you’re looking to shoot some counterterrorists on Dust2, you can do that on Mac, too.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Download
#4. Minecraft
Now, this is a multiplayer online game that’s been ported to nearly every system imaginable. Mac is no exception. Because Minecraft is built on Java, it’s easy to port. This means you get the full, full-fat experience on your Mac without compromises. You get the same crafting and survival experience in a massive procedurally generated world.
This is a game with graphics that scale with your system specs. So you’ll get a great core experience on recent MacBooks with integrated graphics. But your Mac Pro or iMac will really shine with the settings dialed up to 11.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS
Download
#5. Heroes of the Storm
This is an immensely popular multiplayer MOBA that’s a crossover of popular franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and others. As a free-to-play title, you can jump into the hero brawler action directly, without any financial outlay.
Because of its e-sports legacy, Heroes of the Storm is designed to run great on a wide range of platforms, so this is a game even entry-level Macs will be able to manage. Heroes of the Storm offers a huge range of play-styles, with 87 different playable characters, each with its own skills, strengths, and weaknesses.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Download
#6. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
This is an excellent game, both online and offline. As the most recent title in the Civilization series, this is one of the best 4X Strategy games available on any platform. Mac isn’t the only Apple platform it’s available on: There are excellent Civilization 6 ports on iOS for iPad and iPhone as well. You get a very deep strategy experience, taking you through the ages as one of many world leaders.
Individual games can run for hours on end. If you’re looking for the real multiplayer experience, there’s even an online “no-quit” community of players determined to see each session through to the end. This is another game that’s light on system resources. You might even be able to get it running native res on a Retina iMac or MacBook display.
Price: $17.99
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS
Download
#7. Fortnite
This battle royale game is an international sensation. Dropping you onto an island with 99 other competitors, you collect resources, build structures, and fight to stay alive, while the safe space closes inwards. Fortnite has become especially popular with the release of mobile ports, including a high-quality iOS version. But the desktop experience is what you’ll get on Mac.
If you have a decent discrete graphics card, you’ll be able to get Fortnite running at a steady 60 FPS: this is important if you’re trying to play competitively. With compelling multiplayer action, this is one of the best free online games to play for Mac.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Playstation 4
Download
#8. Dota 2
This is a genuine Valve classic. Based on a Warcraft 3 mod, Dota 2 is the MOBA game that titles like League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm aspire towards. You get a straightforward MOBA experience arguably the MOBA experience that’s done the most to define the genre. As a hero, you play on either side of the map to fight with opponents and enemy creeps, strategically using special abilities.
As with most MOBAs, your objective is to destroy the enemy base on the other side of the map. Visuals look nice at higher settings, but this is an eminently scalable game. As a freemium title, you can game on Mac for free with Dota 2. It’ll look and perform great on a wide range of Macs. And there is a very strong Dota 2 community as well to involve yourself in.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Download
#9. Hearthstone
This is a unique spin-off of the Warcraft franchise, a turn-based multiplayer card online game. Using a deck of cards and budgeted by your mana, you try to bring enemy health down to zero, through a combination of strategy and a powerful deck.
As a free-to-play title, Hearthstone has no real barriers of entry: You can get right into this game from any Mac, especially considering its mild system requirements. If you’re in the mood for some low-key strategy play, this is the game for you.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Download
#10. EVE Online
Last but not least, let’s not forget one of gaming’s most incredible online communities. EVE Online has been around for over a decade. The Mac port gives you the full-fat desktop experience. You’ll want to come prepared with a solid discrete graphics card for this game’s spectacular visual effects, but it scales well on lower-end hardware too.
EVE’s magic comes from the degree of role-playing that players put into it. You can be anything in its sci-fi world: A pirate, a capitalist, a diplomat. A lot of player engagement takes place offline, with items and ships being purchased for real money, and treaties being established between groups. And the best part is that EVE has transitioned to a great Free to Play model. You’ll get a lot of amazing experiences for no cash outlay.
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows macOS, Linux
Download
That’s all gamers!
Signing off…
Mac might not have as many online games as other platforms. But it has no shortage of excellent, quality titles of every genre. If you’ve gone through this list, we’re sure you’d have found a Mac online game that’s right for you. Whether it’s Rocket League’s car combat, battle royale in Fortnite, or slow-paced global domination in Civilization VI, there’s one here for you. And since many are free-to-play, you can download these online titles to your Mac and play them directly, no hassle.
You may also like to read other posts…
What are your favorite online games for macOS? Do you want to see other games in this list? Share your answers in the Comments section below.
The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
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