If you own a Mac and you’re looking for a new game to play, this article is for you. Mac users often feel left out of the gaming world because most games don’t run on MacOS.
Today, I’ll share my favorite free MMOFPS games that run flawlessly on Mac. Keep in mind, the in-game performance of these games will depend on the Mac’s hardware.
Best Free MMOFPS Games for Mac
1. Planetside 2
Although it’s a little dated, Planetside 2 is the best example of an MMOFPS game. The game was released in 2012 and still has plenty of active players.
In 2022, Planetside 2 earned the Guinness World Record for “Most players in an online FPS Battle” with a total of 1,530 players in a single game world.
In Planetside 2, three factions are warring to control the planet Auraxis, which is divided into many continents, facilities, and various objectives.
The factions have to work together to slowly expand their territory, earning bonuses with each captured objective. Unfortunately, at the moment, Planetside 2 doesn’t have many players.
Unfortunately, Planetside 2 can’t natively run on MacOS.
How to Play Planetside 2 on Mac:
- Play Planetside 2 on Mac by dual-booting Windows using Bootcamp (only available on Intel Macs).
- Cloud gaming via Geforce Now.
2. Will to Live Online
Will to Live Online is a free-to-play survival MMOFPS set in a post-apocalyptic world. The game is full of monsters, other survivors out for your loot, and paranormal anomalies.
The Will to Live Online servers can support up to 250 players in a single game world. Each player can create multiple characters and utilize various classes and abilities.
Player-to-player interaction is a core part of a Will to Live Online. You can join squads, factions, trade, and many other actions.
The player count has dwindled significantly over the years, but it can be fun to check out with friends.
How to Play Will to Live Online on Mac
- Play Will to Live Online via Geforce Now.
3. WWII Online
WWII Online is one of the oldest online games that still has players. It was released in 2001 and still has active servers. WII Online is a strategic, first-person shooter war simulation game.
The graphics are a bit dated (although switching to Unreal Engine 5 is on the developer’s roadmap) but it’s a fun way to kill some time.
The game features a single massive to-scale map of Western Europe. It even won a Guinness World Record for the largest playable area in a shooter game. Players can use a wide variety of equipment, vehicles, and tactics.
What’s interesting is the game claims to support an unlimited number of players. There are hundreds of players online at any time. If you’re a fan of WWII shooters, this one is worth trying out.
How to Play WII Online on Mac
- Download the WWII Online Mac Client
4. Stalcraft
Stalcraft is another survival-shooter game that is set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The game uses blocky graphics similar to Minecraft.
What makes Stalcraft special is there are plenty of things to do. There’s an interesting story to follow, side quests, PvP, PvE, and plenty of exploration.
While it is marketed as an MMOFPS, the game uses instanced servers, so you won’t see more than about 30 players at a time.
One thing to keep in mind is this is a Russian-made game, so most of the players speak Russian.
How to Play Stalcraft on Mac
- Geforce announced that Stalcraft will be added to Geforce Now this month (along with 60 other games).
5. Enlisted
Enlisted is a free-to-player WWII shooter available for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. The game closely resembles the WII-themed Battlefield games.
New players will have a squad of four to five AI bots. Once you level up, you can choose to play without bots. The gameplay is similar to most WII shooters, with a variety of equipment and guns, and you can use vehicles too.
Enlisted servers can support around 100 players, which are a mixture of bots and humans. The limit may be increased in the future.
How to Play Enlisted on Mac
- You can play Enlisted on Mac with Geforce Now.
- Dual boot Windows with Bootcamp (only available on Intel Macs).
Bonus Mention: Star Wars the Old Republic
While Star Wars the Old Republic (SWTOR) isn’t exactly a first-person shooter game, it has many of the same elements you may be looking for. It’s a free-to-play third-person action MMORPG with lots of phaser battles.
One notable feature of this game is the rich storytelling and variety of quests. If you’re a fan of Star Wars, this one is worth checking out.
How to run Star Wars the Old Republic on Mac
- You can run Star Wars the Old Republic on Mac using Parallels Desktop.
- Intel Macs also can use BootCamp to run the game.
What are MMOFPS Games?
Massive Multiplayer Online First Person Shooters (MMOFPS) are online first-person shooter games that consist of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of players in a persistent game world.
MMOFPS features large-scale combat with hundreds of players in a persistent game world, dungeons or raids, and a player progression system.
Most MMO developers choose to split players into instances, which reduces server load. There are very few MMO games that have everyone on one server.
MMOFPS games are not very popular but there are a few gems out there.
FAQS
Why are there no good MMOFPS games?
Most MMOFPS games have died down due to a lack of players. MMOFPS games are not nearly as popular as MMORPGs.
Are there any MMOFPSs that run natively on MacOS?
The only MMOFPS I could find that has a native MacOS client is WWII Online. However, I haven’t been able to test it on Apple Silicon Macs.
What is the best way to play games on MacOS?
Ideally, the developers release a native MacOS client that uses the Metal API. Third-party tools like Crossover or Parallels Desktop are also good alternatives.
Why won’t MMOFPS games run on Apple Silicon?
Most massive multi-player games won’t run on Apple Silicon because their anti-cheat service is not compatible with the new architecture. It’s up to the developers to patch it.
