Divinity: Original Sin 2, the highest-rated PC game of 2017 on Metacritic, is also one of the best RPGs on macOS.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 was developed in a partnership between Mac porting studio Elverils and the Apple Metal Engineering Team. This was the first time we ever saw the Apple Metal Engineering team publicly work with a developer to bring a game to the Mac, and given the many impressive and unique macOS features, we hope it won’t be the last time.
But what does it take to run this unique macOS port? How well can your Mac run Divinity: Original Sin 2? Can it run on M1 Macs?
Can you play Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Mac?
You can absolutely play Divinity: Original Sin 2 on your Mac, including Intel and Apple Silicon Models. Even if the official system requirements don’t mention M1 or M2 Macs, our benchmarks confirm the game runs fine on Apple Silicon Macs.
Divinity Original Sin 2 running on an M1 Mac
On top of putting Apple’s Metal graphics API, to good use, this is was that was ported to macOS with care (and experience), and it shows. More on that below.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Divinity: Original Sin 2 | RPG | Yes |  | Metal | Rosetta |
Divinity 2 on Mac: Everything you need to know
With over 200 awards and over 2 million copies sold, Original Sin 2 is one of the most popular and highly-rated role-playing games in history. On top of that, the game was revealed during 2018’s Apple Keynote event, which was highly unusual as Apple rarely even acknowledged Mac gaming. But Divinity 2 was an exception, as it was the first game ever to include unique macOS features.
The Mac version of the game features all the content from the Windows version of the Definitive Edition without compromising graphical fidelity. But this port is much more ambitious than that. Divinity 2’s Mac version comes with special features for MacBook Pros, including TouchBar support for quick access to in-game actions. This was also the first macOS title to support HDR, something reserved for the Xbox One X, PS4 Pro, and high-end Windows gaming at the time.
Developer Elveris confirmed the following Mac-specific features to us via email:
- 64-bit Metal 1.2 support
- eGPU support (10.13+ only)
- V-sync support (10.13+ only)
- macOS Support for 10.13 and 10.14 macOS with potential for (10.12 support likely but still in the works)
- Support for Apple MFI controllers and rumbling support on selected controllers
- MacBook TouchBar support
- MacBook trackpad and selected gestures support
Needless to say, this was an exemplary macOS port.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 Mac requirements
These are the game’s official Mac requirements:
| Requirements | |
| OS: | 10.13.6 |
| Processor: | Core i5 |
| Memory: | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics: | HD Graphics 5000 or Radeon R9 M290X |
| Hard Drive: | 20 GB |
| A 64-Bit OS and processor are required | |
⚠ Do note that NVIDIA GPUs are not officially supported. According to the developer, only these Macs are officially supported:
- MacBook Pro: all since late 2016
- MacBook Air: all since mid 2017
- iMac: with AMD GPUs since late 2013
- Mac Pro: all since late 2013
- Mac mini: all since 2018
We can confirm these include Apple Silicon models (M1 or M2).
How to play Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Mac
As mentioned before, Divinity: Original Sin 2 runs natively on macOS, including Intel-based Macs and M1/M2 Macs.
The game does require Rosetta 2 to run on Apple Silicon Macs. But Rosetta 2 works so seamlessly (it installs automatically the first time it detects an Intel-based app), and it integrates so well with macOS that the experience is virtually the same as running a native Apple Silicon Mac.
This means Divinity: Original Sin 2 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.
Can you play Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Mac? M1 and Intel Benchmarks
These are the Divinity: Original Sin 2 M1 benchmarks we have gathered so far:
| Game | Machine | Resolution | Settings | Other | FPS | Tester | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 💻 M1 Max MacBook Pro 16", 32 GB | 2560x1440 | Ultra | 100+ | MrMacRight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRPPLrlUeSA | |
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 💻 M1 Max MacBook Pro 16", 32 GB | 3840x2160 (4K) | Ultra | 60 | MrMacRight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRPPLrlUeSA | |
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 💻 M1 MacBook Pro 13", 8-core GPU, 8 GB | 1920x1080 | High | 60 | MrMacRight | ||
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 💻 M1 MacBook Air 13", 7-core GPU, 8 GB | 1440x900 | Medium | 59 | Mac Gamer HQ | ||
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 💻 M1 MacBook Air 13", 7-core GPU, 8 GB | 1440x900 | Ultra | 49 | Mac Gamer HQ | ||
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 💻 M1 MacBook Air 13", 7-core GPU, 8 GB | 2048x1280 | Ultra | 33 | Mac Gamer HQ |
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 RPGs? These are our favorites:
| Game | ★ Best Overall | Runner-up | Best Value |
 Baldur's Gate 3 |  Disco Elysium |  Hades |
|
| Genre | Party-based RPG | Detective RPG | Action RPG |
| Release date | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Metascore | |||
| Our rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ |
| Requirements | High | Medium | Low |
| Check Price |
Can you play Divinity: Original Sin 2 on a MacBook Pro?
Based on the several tests we’ve performed on both a base M1 MacBook Air and an M1 Pro MacBook Pro, we can confirm Divinity: Original Sin 2 runs great on modern MacBooks. In fact, running the game on Medium settings and a respectable 1440×900 resolution, our MacBook Air could run the game at nearly 60 frames per second.
If you’re stuck with an older Mac, you should give Star Wars: KOTOR 2 a try.
How to download Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Mac
While the game is available on the Mac App Store and Steam, we generally tend to favor Steam. Purchasing a game that features Cross-buy on Steam gives you access to both the Windows and macOS versions of the game. However, in this specific case, it might be better to grab the game from the Mac App Store to get all the Mac-specific goodies available. You can download the game from the Mac App Store here.
Are you a Divinity fan? Will you be getting yourself a copy?
Great news. I’m just finishing Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition. Now the decision will be to play this right away or Subnautica first.
By the way, Divinity:Original Sin 2 is on sale on steam until February 11.
Subnautica has a terrible performance even on MBP, roughly 25~30 fps with poor graphics settings, though the gameplay is awesome.
There goes my dissertation…
Runs flawlessly on the maximum graphics settings on my late 2017 27″ iMac
Also running sweet on my 2017 15″ MBP
Some users have reported (e.g. on Steam) some graphics glitches so read the specs carefully before you buy.
Apparently a fix is in the works for this
You should also mention that it can be purchased through GOG.com.
NB GOG.com has a 30 days refund policy (but check that)
In case anyone’s interested, I just ran Count It for a bit of the early game. And I pushed it to the max on my system. It’s a late-2014 27″ iMac with an SSD, 32GB RAM, 4GHz I7 processor, and AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB. Running on Ultra at 2560×1440, I was averaging about 30fps. Granted it was a single character and not a full party, and the fight I had was one on one, but I’m quite impressed.
If any of you get any Mods working with the Mac version please post here. Thanks!
I’m using a few mods. There are two types. The mods that come in a .pak file go in ~/Documents/Larian Studios/Mods. They have to be activated using Mods on the main menu. The other type of mod requires copying to the Data folder inside the DOS2 app file. You need to show package contents and go down to Data. Once there you usually need to create a Public folder and whatever structure is needed underneath. Note that there is a difference between classic and Definitive Edition mods.
Just for reference, I’m using a number of mods by LaughingLeader, as well as Majoras – Character Creation Plus, and Stealth – No Silly Bush, Barrels, or Rocks. I tried a few others but I didn’t like them. I did try a number of graphics enhancement mods but I didn’t see any difference. As far as I could tell, they were installed correctly. It’s possible that the Definitive Edition improvements made them unnecessary.
Bugger… 2015 DG MacBook Pro here, probably struggle to run it at all 🙁
It would depend on whether you have an added graphics card. I doubt that the built-in graphics would handle it. What’s your configuration?
Works great with an AMD Radeon RX580 egpu on a 2017 15″ MBP!
If you install the latest update, with the first gift bag, ensure that you don’t have any mods that affect character creation otherwise it may crash when you continue your game. I had Majoras – Character Creation Plus installed and once I clicked Continue, the game crashed at the very end of the load sequence. Luckily, it’s easy to turn most mods on and off. The reason is that the gift bag update adds character creation options.
Дополнительно: Nvidia GPUs are not supported at this time and will likely result in graphical distortion or artefacts. Supported: – MacBook Pro: all since late 2016 – MacBook Air: all since mid 2017 – iMac: with AMD GPUs since late 2013 – Mac Pro: all since late 2013 – Mac mini: all since 2018
Is there anywhere I can find DETAILED instructions? I have never seen this game.
What do you mean by “detailed”? like gameplay wise? Or screenshots on how to install?