Play Crusader Kings 3 on Mac: M1 Benchmarks & Guide

Have you ever wanted to be in charge of a medieval kingdom? Well, Crusader Kings III can scratch that itch for you.

Crusader Kings 3 is one of our favorite Mac Strategy games for a reason. If you enjoy working with imperfect and wacky characters in order to achieve grand schemes and reading human stories, this is the game for you.

Can You Play Crusader Kings 3 on Mac?

You absolutely can. CK3’s initial release on Steam included macOS as one of its playable platforms. It is also running very well on M1 systems thanks to CK3 now using Vulkan renderer.

To play it on a Mac, you can simply install it and run it. Therefore, we won’t discuss CrossOver, Wine, or streaming because Crusader Kings 3 is natively available on Mac.

It is also worth saying that Paradox Interactive has a pretty solid record for Mac support in general, so no need to worry about compatibility or performance issues there.

Crusader Kings 3 Mac requirements

These are the game’s official Mac requirements:

Can Your Mac Run Crusader Kings 3? Benchmarks & Performance

These are the M1 benchmarks we have gathered so far:

As can be seen from the benchmarks performed by our team and by other members of the community, Crusader Kings III is highly playable. Most users also report no heating issues as well. Thanks to the conversion from OpenGL to Vulkan, most Macs can comfortably run Crusader Kings III. Performance does seem to suffer a bit when it comes to Intel-based Macs, especially older ones. However, we can confirm that M1 machines can run this game without problems.

Crusader Kings 3 Mac gameplay

Crusader Kings 3 on MacBook: Can it run on a base M1 MacBook Air?

It is possible to run Crusader Kings 3 on a MacBook Air. Based on tests performed on a similar machine (the base M1 MacBook Pro), you can expect around 30 frames per second on average. For a slow-paced game with turn-based mechanics, 30 FPS is more than fine.

Be aware the M1 MacBook Air will be slightly slower than the M1 MacBook Pro. This means you should expect to play this game on lower settings and resolution to ensure a smooth performance hovering around the 30 FPS.

The Verdict: Should You Play Crusader Kings 3 On Your Mac?

Crusader Kings III, also known as CK3, is a medieval strategy RPG with the goal of raising the most powerful yet dysfunctional bloodline to govern your nation. Whether you’ll achieve world domination or create a chicken-worshipping matriarchal society in Africa is entirely up to you. If reading text and solving problems is your source of entertainment, then you’re in the right place.

A prime example of a Paradox Interactive game, Crusader Kings III is a very easy game to pick up and learn, arguably the most beginner-friendly one of the series. Every button has a tooltip explaining what it does and even the tooltips that pop up have tooltips explaining them. 

However, wave aside the notion that beginner-friendly means a poorer experience. Nay, perish the thought. With major improvements to both gameplay and variety, CK3 is by far the best in the series. Pick a nation, create a character, and start your reign. Sounds simple, but there’s a catch. Your character will have a series of traits determined by their background, upbringing, and experiences. These traits will determine how your character wants to act. For example, your chosen king may be wise and benevolent, yet at the same time have a shoe fetish. There’s also a stress mechanic where if too many actions go against their nature, they become stressed, and bad things happen. It’s a wonderfully refreshing mechanic to keep each run of Crusader Kings III new and exciting.

There are some DLCs for Crusader Kings III, and they expand the gameplay experience by adding in new nations such as the Vikings, but the general consensus is that the DLCs are overpriced.

Crusader Kings 3 Mac Download

You can buy and download Crusader Kings 3 on Steam.