Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Mac: How to Play & Tests

The original Counter-Strike single-handedly shaped competitive first-person shooters into what they are today. And Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the improved and refined sequel that, after all these years, remains one of the most-played games in the world.

And in order to compete with the newer free-to-play battle royale shooters, CS GO eventually became free-to-play. But what does it take to run one of the most played shooters for Mac? How well can your Mac run CS: GO? Can it run on M1 Macs?

Can you play CSGO on Mac?

You can absolutely play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on your Mac, including Intel and Apple Silicon Models. Even if the system requirements don’t mention M1 or M2 Macs, our benchmarks confirm the game runs fine on Apple Silicon Macs.

CS GO running on M1 Macs

The game runs great on all Mac hardware, including the newer Apple Silicon machines, but it is worth noting that the game currently suffers from a bug that prevents it from launching. The bug can be easily corrected, though. More on that below.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support
	Counter Strike: Global Offensive	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta

Counter-Strike on Mac: Everything you need to know

CS: GO is an online tactical first-person shooter and features classic content from the original Counter-Strike, such as revamped versions of classic maps, as well as brand-new maps, characters, and game modes.

The game offers the most competitive online Multiplayer out there, including professionals playing on the eSports circuit. CS GO features cross-platform Multiplayer between Windows and macOS, and if you’re worried that after all these years, players might have moved on to something newer, fear not. CS: GO is still among the most-played titles on Steam (the fact you can play it for free certainly helps).

One more thing… Be warned, though, CS: GO’s Multiplayer is ruthless, filled with players with thousands of hours, and requires much practice to master. On the other hand, it runs great on macOS, even on our base M1 MacBook Air test machine.

CSGO Mac requirements

These are the game’s official Mac requirements:

⛔ Be aware that the system requirements don’t mention M1 Macs, but we can confirm the game runs just fine on Apple Silicon machines.

How to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Mac

As mentioned before, CS GO runs natively on macOS, including Intel-based Macs and M1/M2 Macs.

This means SC2 can run on macOS without requiring any third-party software. Therefore, we won’t waste your time talking about Parallels, Crossover (both excellent tools, but only useful for Windows-exclusive games…), or Streaming services.

CS GO Mac Bug fix

CSGO currently suffers from a bug that prevents the game from launching. To fix it:

• Go to the game’s Properties on Steam:

• and paste the following code in Launch options: “-w 800 -h 600 -refresh 60”:

Can you play CS GO on Mac? Benchmarks

These are the CS GO M1/M2 benchmarks we have gathered so far:

As a reminder, this is how we describe the different levels of performance:

• Below 20 FPS: Unplayable: Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns.
• 20-30 FPS: Borderline: Can be OK in slow-paced games. Still, not optimal.
• 30-45 FPS: Playable: Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this).
• 45-60 FPS: Smooth: Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters.
• 60+ FPS: Very Smooth: For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most.

Into first-person shooters? These are our favorites:

Game	★ Best Overall	Runner-Up	Best Value
	Borderlands 2	Metro: Exodus	Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Genre	Co-op	Survival Horror	Competitive
Release date	2012	2021	2015
Metascore	89	82	81
Our rating	★★★★★ Full Review	★★★★☆ Full review	★★★★☆
Requirements	✅ Not Demanding	⚠️ Demanding	✅ Not Demanding
Check Price	Humble Bundle	Check Price	Steam

Intel Mac benchmarks

We also performed the following tests on six Intel-based machines:

• iMac 27-Inch (5K, Late 2014): 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 16 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016): 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2013): 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, Intel Iris 5100 (1.5GB)

Using Count It, our in-house FPS counter, we tested all machines while playing an AI Versus match for about 5 minutes:

As a reminder, this is how we describe the different levels of performance:

• Below 20 FPS: Unplayable: Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns.
• 20-30 FPS: Borderline: Can be OK in slow-paced games. Still, not optimal.
• 30-45 FPS: Playable: Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this).
• 45-60 FPS: Smooth: Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters.
• 60+ FPS: Very Smooth: For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most.

We usually aim for 30 FPS, because 30 FPS is enough to guarantee a fluid experience.

Can my Mac run Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?

If we focus on current hardware featuring an Apple Silicon processor, we can confirm that the game runs great on M1 and M2 machines, especially those with M1 Pro or M1 Max processors. If fact, even the base M1 MacBook Air can run CSGO at decent settings and performance.

If you bump the settings to 2048×1280 resolution and Medium settings, the game can run at around 45 frames per second, which is acceptable for most. Lowering the resolution will drastically increase FPS if you’re looking for a smoother experience.

Can you play CS GO on a MacBook Pro?

Running the game on Medium settings and 1440×900 resolution, the game can run at over 60 frames per second. That’s more than enough for most players out there.

Granted, if you’re looking to get into the competitive scene, 60 FPS might not sound like enough. Harcore players swear that they need at least 100 FPS to be competitive, and if that’s your case, you’ll be better off running this game on a dedicated Windows gaming PC…

If you’re looking to have fun whilst having a smooth experience playing CSGO, M1 Macs can easily get the job done.

Download Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for Mac

You can download the game from Steam.