How to Play Outer Wilds on Mac
- Sven Frese
- Games
- September 8, 2024
Outer Wilds is one of the most praised games of the last decade, and it was never released for Mac. The PC version runs on Windows only.
With CloudDeck you can play Outer Wilds on your Mac.
| Outer Wilds at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Mobius Digital |
| Steam release | Jun 18, 2020 |
| Mac version | No |
| Steam Deck rating by Valve | Verified |
| Player rating on ProtonDB | Platinum (398 reports) |
| Steam reviews | Overwhelmingly Positive (about 109,000 reviews) |
| Disk space needed | 8 GB |
| Controller support | Full |
Sources: Steam store page, ProtonDB, Are We Anti-Cheat Yet. Checked on October 1, 2026.
What you get with Outer Wilds
You are the newest pilot of a small space program and explore a solar system that is stuck in a time loop. There are no upgrades and no quest markers. What you carry from one loop to the next is what you have learned.
According to the Steam store page, the game won Best Game at the 2020 BAFTA Games Awards. An expansion followed in 2021 and is sold separately on Steam.
It is a single-player game, and it is best played knowing as little as possible.
Play Outer Wilds on your Mac with CloudDeck
CloudDeck is a gaming PC in the cloud. Outer Wilds runs on our servers and is streamed to your Mac.
Valve rates the game as Verified on the Steam Deck, the best rating there is. CloudDeck runs Windows games with the same technology. On ProtonDB the game has the top rating, Platinum, based on almost 400 reports.
Here is how to get started:
- Create your CloudDeck account and start your subscription.
- Install Moonlight , a free streaming app, on your Mac and connect to your CloudDeck.
- Log in to Steam and install Outer Wilds.
- Connect a controller to your Mac and start the game.
You need to own Outer Wilds on Steam. CloudDeck is available in Europe, the United States and Canada. The streaming app needs macOS 10.13 or newer.
Our help center has a step-by-step guide with screenshots for connecting with Moonlight.
Tips for playing on a Mac
Play with a controller. Steam marks the game as “gamepad recommended”, and flying the ship is much easier with analog sticks.
The game needs 8 GB of disk space, and your progress is saved to Steam Cloud.
Set the right resolution. If you see black bars above and below the picture, the stream doesn't match your screen. For most MacBooks we recommend 1680x1050. Our guide on removing black bars shows where to set it.
Check your keyboard layout. CloudDeck starts with a US keyboard layout. If you use a German, French or other keyboard, some keys won't match until you change the layout.
If the picture stutters, connect your Mac by cable or 5 GHz Wi-Fi and turn off location services in macOS. There are more tips in our guide on lag and stutters.
To end a session, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q in Moonlight.
Other ways to play on a Mac
CrossOver is an app that runs some Windows games directly on your Mac, without streaming. It is a paid app with a 14-day free trial. CodeWeavers keeps a compatibility database where you can look up the current rating for Outer Wilds before you buy.
We haven’t tested Outer Wilds with CrossOver. It runs the game on your own Mac, so it costs less in the long run if it works for you. CloudDeck is the better choice if you want to skip the setup, or if you also want to play Windows games that need more power than your Mac has.
What it costs
CloudDeck costs $19.99 per month, and you can cancel anytime. We don't offer a free trial. If you're not happy and have used your CloudDeck for less than 4 hours, we'll refund you. You can sign up here.
