Apple tree has a weird human relationship with gaming. Bar occasional, short-lived flurries of gaming advocacy, the company has been absurd on the subject field, mostly using games to showcase the power of shiny new hardware it wants to sell.

But in that location have ever been both casual and dedicated gamers on the Mac, and increasingly Mac gaming finds itself on relatively equal basis with Windows gaming - at least in terms of provision, if not the actual quantity of releases.

How to use Steam on Mac

Steam is the biggest modernistic-day success story in terms of gaming content delivery. It was launched on Windows in 2003 - arriving on the Mac in 2010 - and has since grown to a user base of over 150 million registered accounts. Its popularity even led to a line of micro-consoles and the SteamOS operating system.

With this feature, though, nosotros're sticking resolutely to the Mac. We'll show you how to go a Steam account upwards and running, so y'all can browse and download more dandy Mac games than you could hope to play in a lifetime.

For more gaming communication, check out our roundup of the best Mac games (many of which are available on Steam) and the all-time costless Mac games.

Install Steam for Mac

To install Steam, you'll need an Intel Mac running macOS 10.vii (Lion) or later on, and 1GB of drive infinite. The Steam website recommends yous have a 2-button mouse handy, because many games are designed first and foremost for Windows. Notwithstanding, the vast bulk can alternatively exist controlled using but a keyboard, or a mix of mouse/trackpad and keyboard.

Get started by going to steampowered.com, and click Install Steam. The welcome page volition find you're using a Mac, and you should then click Install Steam At present. This will download steam.dmg to your ~/Downloads folder.

How to use Steam on Mac: Downloads button

Open your Downloads folder and double-click steam.dmg (or practice so from Safari's Downloads button in the toolbar), and click Agree. When a Finder window appears, elevate the Steam icon to the Applications binder shortcut.

How to use Steam on Mac: Drag icon

Y'all can then launch Steam from your Applications folder. Y'all'll go a standard 'application downloaded from the Net' warning. Click Open. Steam will likely install an update.

Set up up a Steam business relationship on your Mac

If yous've already got a Steam account, sign in. If you're using Steam on a new Mac, you'll be emailed a security code to type in before y'all can go on. If y'all don't have an account, you'll need to create one.

How to use Steam on Mac: Create an account

Click Create New Account, concord to the terms, and decide on an business relationship proper name and password. The former needs to be more than eight characters, and cannot include the words 'Steam' or 'Valve'. Make your password stiff, then no-one else can admission your business relationship. The Steam app volition requite you lot an indication of your countersign'due south suitability. Click Side by side and enter an email address for account retrieval and security.

Your account volition be set, afterwards which point you lot'll go an opportunity to print your details. If you don't take a printer handy, you can impress to PDF in the Print dialog.

Click Finish and you'll be sent a confirmation email. Click the link within the electronic mail and y'all'll be ready to go. For further security, the Steam app will point you at details on how to add a mobile number to your account, for account recovery via SMS.

Ensure Steam games are uniform with your Mac

Click the Store tab and Steam will display featured and recommended games. Scroll downwards and you'll encounter special offers, and other options for browsing the catalogue.

How to use Steam on Mac: Store

In some of these lists, Steam - knowing you're using a Mac - volition automatically filter games accordingly. But this isn't always the instance, and and then keep a close eye on compatibility data. Generally, you'll see platform logos when browsing. If non, they're on the toll strip on a game'southward individual page.

Notwithstanding, an Apple tree logo doesn't necessarily mean a game will work with your Mac. So peruse organization requirements, further downwards on the game's folio, and ensure your Mac'due south specifications lucifer or - preferably - beat them. (To find out your Mac'southward specifications, go to Nearly This Mac in the Apple menu.)

How to use Steam on Mac: System requirements

Filter game lists on Steam for Mac

Beyond Steam'southward curated lists, the app provides plenty of scope for finding new games to play. From the Games dropdown menu, you can leap right to lists of titles in pop genres. Alternatively, just click Games, scroll down, and click Browse All New Releases. Or if y'all have a better idea of what yous're afterwards, use the search the shop field.

In the Browsing results screen, you tin further narrow your search using the checkboxes on the righthand side, adding tags, game types, features and other criteria. If at whatever point you desire to remove i of these elements so information technology no longer impacts on your search results, click its close button in the area below the Browsing heading. (If y'all fancy jumping right to all Mac games, there'southward a link for that.)

How to use Steam on Mac: Filter

Besides, be mindful that although you can immediately grab a copy of annihilation you observe - as shown in the adjacent section of this article - you can also stash interesting games for afterwards. In a game's folio, click Add together to your wishlist. Your wishlist can be accessed by clicking the Wishlist push button above the aforementioned 'search the store' field.

Install games using Steam for Mac

Similar the Mac App Store, Steam offers free and paid-for games. For free games, click the Play Game button. This opens a window with options for creating a desktop shortcut, and enabling yous to adjust the install location. Add the sometime if you similar; avert changing the latter.

Click Adjacent and Steam volition create the local game files on your Mac. Click Cease and then Play Game once again to open information technology - or open the game from the Library tab (come across adjacent section).

How to use Steam on Mac: Install

With a paid game, the Play Game push is replaced by Add to Cart. Click that and y'all can continue shopping; you tin can later return to your cart by pressing the button that appears side by side to the wishlist ane.

When in the checkout, you click either Purchase for myself, or Purchase as a gift if you're buying the game(s) for someone else. A range of payment options is provided, which includes PayPal, debit/credit cards and Bitcoin.

Understand the Library in Steam for Mac

The aforementioned Library tab houses your games. Select 1 from the sidebar and you'll encounter when it was last played, and too how long y'all've played the game in full. For games that have them, achievement badges volition appear here, as volition links to relevant places on Steam, such every bit the game'due south store and community (forum) pages.

To play a game, click Play. If the game's non yet installed, that button will instead exist labelled Install. Click that to brainstorm downloading, and you'll get a notification when it'south done.

How to use Steam on Mac: Sidebar

If you've got a large library, utilise the Search field to filter information technology. You tin can besides click the button to the right of the Search field, and so make a choice to limit your games list to those that match major categories.

For example, click Mac to view simply Mac games from a mixed library. Or click Installed to hibernate anything that's non already on your Mac.

Control/correct-click a game title in the sidebar for farther options, including creating a shortcut, and uninstalling if you need to free up space.

Play Steam games on your Mac

Y'all demand to recognise that Steam is a hub - a combination of a shop and launcher. It'south not a system for playing games - only accessing them. When you decide to play a game, Steam opens an independent app, and games available on Steam have been made past many hundreds of dissimilar developers.

This means there'due south no consistency. Some games volition show controls upwards front; others will bury them in settings menus. Some will exist Mac-friendly and utilise standard keyboard shortcuts, but many will not. Some may run in full-screen, but near will start windowed.

Always call up you lot can use the macOS app switcher to quit a game: Cmd + Tab brings upwardly the switcher; hold Cmd and hitting Tab again to movement your selection; with Cmd still held, press Q when the item you want to close is selected, and it will quit.

How to use Steam on Mac: Quitting a game

Bring together the Steam customs

Finally, Steam has a community running throughout the site. From a game page in your Library, you tin can write a review almost that particular title, offering personal insights, and telling others whether you'd recommend it. To farther engage with the Steam customs, y'all can chat with other people near games - or anything else, for that affair - along with creating and joining groups.

To get started, click your account's name in the chief toolbar, and so Setup Steam Profile. Fill up in whatsoever information you lot're willing to brand public, and then jump right in. Just be nice to those developers, eh? Fifty-fifty though Steam makes information technology easier than ever for people to find a ton of games to play, that doesn't make them whatever easier to create.

Uninstall Steam from your Mac

Okay, we hope yous won't desire to exercise this simply yet, and so file this section abroad for later.

If you ever want to delete Steam, drag the app to the Trash. In Finder, go to Get > Library, and delete the Steam folder found in Application Support. If you want to retain game data, instead delete everything within the Steam folder, apart from SteamApps. And so empty the Trash.