The Sims 4 on Mac: How to Download for FREE (& Benchmarks)

While not everyone’s cup of tea, it is undeniable how popular The Sims franchise is. Hell, I’ll go ahead and admit there was a brief period in my life when all I played was The Sims. Create a Sim, build a house, get a job, make friends, and find love, all in the comfort of your computer.

But a lot has changed since the heady days of the 2000s, and after 3 main entries and countless expansions, developer Maxis has now delivered The Sims 4, one of the most addictive simulation games for Mac. But it gets better. Starting October 18, 2022, The Sims 4 is available for free.

Can you play The Sims 4 on Mac?

You can absolutely play The Sims 4 on your Mac, and that includes Intel and Apple Silicon Models. Even if the official system requirements don’t mention M1 or M2 Macs, our benchmarks confirm the game runs great on Apple Silicon Macs.

The Sims 4 is not a particularly demanding game, but that shouldn’t take merit away from Maxis, a studio that, in spite of being on the receiving end of a lot of criticism, has always ensured that The Sims 4 is fully supported on macOS, even during the debacle that was moving from 32-bit to 64-bit with macOS Catalina.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support
	Arma 3	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Native
	Asphalt 8	Racing	Yes		Metal	Native
	Asphalt 9	Racing	Yes		Metal	Native
	Baldur's Gate 3	RPG	Yes		Metal	Native
	Disco Elysium	RPG	Yes		Metal	Native
	ELEX 2	Action	Yes		Metal	Native
	EVERSPACE 2	Action	Yes		Metal	Native
	Factorio	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Native
	Farming Simulator 22	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Native
	Firmament	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Native
	Football Manager 2023	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Native
	Fort Solis	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Native
	Gang Beasts	Action	Yes		Metal	Native
	Gear.Club Stradale	Racing	Yes		Metal	Native
	GRID Legends	Racing	Yes		Metal	Native
	Horizon Chase Turbo	Racing	Yes		Metal	Native
	Layers of Fear	Horror	Yes		Metal	Native
		Action	Yes		Metal	Native
	Minecraft	Sandbox	Yes		Metal	Native
	Myst	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Native
	NBA 2K22 Arcade	Sports	Yes		Metal	Native
	No Man's Sky	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Native
	Old World	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	Pascal's Wager: Definitive Edition	RPG	Yes		Metal	Native
	Prodeus	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Native
	Resident Evil 4	Action	Yes		Metal	Native
	Resident Evil Village	Action	Yes		Metal	Native
	Road Redemption	Racing	Yes		TBC	Native
	RollerCoaster Tycoon 3	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Native
	Runescape	MMO	Yes		Metal	Native
	SimCity 4	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	SnowRunner	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Native
	Spacebase Startopia	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	Stray	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Native
	Terra Nil	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	The Medium	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Native
	The Wandering Village	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	Timberborn	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	Total War: Pharaoh	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Native
	Tunic	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Native
	World of Warcraft	MMO	Yes		Metal	Native
	World of Warcraft: Classic	MMO	Yes		Metal	Native
	X-Plane 12	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Native
	Among Us	Party	Yes		Metal	iOS
	Pokemon Quest	Adventure	Yes		Metal	iOS
	Horizon Chase Turbo	Racing			TBC	Rosetta
	0 A.D.	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	7 Days to Die	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	911 Operator	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	A Total War Saga: Troy	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Age of Wonders: Planetfall	Strategy	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Albion Online	MMO	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Alien: Isolation	Horror	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	American Truck Simulator	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Aragami	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	ARK: Survival Evolved	Survival	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Art of Rally	Racing	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Baba is You	Puzzle	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Bastion	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Batman: Arkham City	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Battle for Wesnoth	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	BATTLETECH	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Beholder	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Beyond A Steel Sky	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Bioshock 2 Remastered	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	BioShock Remastered	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Bitburner	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Borderlands 2	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Borderlands 3	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Brawlhalla	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Call of Duty: Black Ops 3	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	CARRION	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Cave Story	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Celeste	Action	Yes		Vulkan	Rosetta
	Chivalry: Medieval Warfare	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Cities: Skylines	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Civilization 5	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Civilization 6	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Company of Heroes 2	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Counter Strike: Global Offensive	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Crab Game	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Crusader Kings 3	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Cult of the Lamb	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Cuphead	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Darkest Dungeon	RPG	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	DAVE THE DIVER	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Dead Cells	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Descenders	Racing	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Desperados 3	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Deus Ex: Mankind Divided	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	DEVOUR	Horror	Yes			Rosetta
	Diablo 3	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	DiRT 4	Racing	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	DiRT Rally	Racing	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Distance	Racing	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Divinity: Original Sin	RPG	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Divinity: Original Sin 2	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Doki Doki Literature Club!	Visual Novel	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Dome Keeper	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Don't Starve Together	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Dota 2	MOBA	Yes		Vulkan	Rosetta
	Dota Underlords	Strategy	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Dwarf Fortress	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Dying Light	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Elder Scrolls Online	MMO	Yes		Vulkan	Rosetta
	Euro Truck Simulator 2	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Europa Universalis 4	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	EVE Online	MMO	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Everspace	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	F1 2016	Racing	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	F1 2017	Racing	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Final Fantasy 14 Online	MMO	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Firewatch	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Fishing Planet	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Flashout 3	Racing	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Football Manager 2021	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Football Manager 2022	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Football Manager 2023	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Fortnite	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Frostpunk	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Garry's Mod	Sandbox	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	GRID: Autosport	Racing	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Griftlands	RPG	Yes			Rosetta
	Hades	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Hearthstone	CCD	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Hearts of Iron 4	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Hellpoint	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Her Story	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Heroes of the Storm	MOBA	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Hitman	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Hollow Knight	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	House Flipper	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Human: Fall Flat	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Immortality	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Inscryption	CCD	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	INSIDE	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Insurgency	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Into the Breach	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Isonzo	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Kerbal Space Program	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Kingdoms and Castles	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	League of Legends	MOBA	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	LEGO: The Incredibles	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Life is Strange	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Life is Strange 2	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Life is Strange: Before the Storm	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Loop Hero	RPG	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Mad Max	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Magic The Gathering Arena	CCD	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Metro: 2033 Redux	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Metro: Exodus	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Metro: Last Light Redux	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Moonlighter	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Moto Racer 4	Racing	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Mount & Blade: Warband	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Night in the Woods	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Northgard	Strategy	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Obduction	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	OpenTTD	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Outlast	Horror	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Overcooked! 2	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Owlboy	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Oxenfree	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Oxygen Not Included	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Path of Exile	RPG	Yes		Vulkan	Rosetta
	Pathfinder: Kingmaker	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Phoenix Point	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Planet Coaster	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Portal Reloaded	Puzzle	Yes			Rosetta
	Prison Architect	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Project Zomboid	Survival	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Psychonauts 2	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Realm of the Mad God Exalt	MMO	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Return of the Obra Dinn	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Return to Monkey Island	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	RimWorld	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Rise of the Tomb Raider	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Robocraft	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Rocket League	Racing	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Rocksmith 2014 Edition: Remastered	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Rust	Survival	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Shadow of The Tomb Raider	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Skul: The Hero Slayer	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Slay the Spire	CCD	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Sleeping Dogs	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Slime Rancher	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	SOMA	Horror	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	SpeedRunners	Racing	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Starcraft 2	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Stardew Valley	Simulation	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Stellaris	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	STRAFE: Gold Edition	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Stranded Deep	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Streets of Rogue	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Stumble Guys	Party	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Subnautica	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Subnautica: Below Zero	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	SUPERHOT	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete	Shooter	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Surviving Mars	Strategy	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	TACOMA	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Terraria	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	The Long Dark	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	The Pathless	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	The Sims 2	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	The Sims 4	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	The Witcher	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	The Witcher 2	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	The Witness	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Thief	Action	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Thimbleweed Park	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Tomb Raider	Action	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Tooth and Tail	Strategy	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Total War: ROME REMASTERED	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Total War: Three Kingdoms	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Total War: Warhammer	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Total War: Warhammer 2	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Total War: Warhammer 3	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Totally Accurate Battle Simulator	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	TowerFall Ascension	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Transistor	Adventure	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Transport Fever 2	Strategy	Yes		Vulkan	Rosetta
	Tropico 6	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Two Point Campus	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Two Point Hospital	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Undertale	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Unpacking	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Untitled Goose Game	Puzzle	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	UNTURNED	Survival	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Vampire Survivors	Action	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	Victor Vran	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Victoria 3	Strategy	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	War Thunder	MMO	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Warcraft 3 Reforged	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Wasteland 2: Director's Cut	RPG	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Wasteland 3	RPG	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	World of Tanks Blitz	MMO	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	X-Plane 11	Simulation	Yes		TBC	Rosetta
	XCOM 2	Strategy	Yes		Metal	Rosetta
	Yooka-Laylee	Adventure	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta
	Dungeons & Dragons Online	MMO	Yes		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Gravel	Racing	Yes		Metal	Unsupported
	Guild Wars 2	MMO	Yes		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Mafia 3	Action	Yes		Metal	Unsupported
	MXGP3	Racing	Yes		Metal	Unsupported
	Observer	Horror	Yes		Metal	Unsupported
	Trove	MMO	Yes		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Age of Wonders 3	Strategy	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	Shooter	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Crusader Kings 2	Strategy	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Fistful of Frags	Shooter	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Grid 2	Racing	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Half Life 2	Shooter	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Homeworld Remastered	Strategy	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Left 4 Dead 2	Shooter	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine	Action	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition	Strategy	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Portal 2	Puzzle	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Psychonauts	Action	No		TBC	Unsupported
	Punch Club	RPG	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Spelunky: Classic	Adventure	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Star Conflict	MMO	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Team Fortress 2	Shooter	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	The Lord of the Rings Online	MMO	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	The Walking Dead	Horror	No		OpenGL	Unsupported
	Xenonauts	Strategy	No		OpenGL	Unsupported

The Sims 4 on Mac: Everything you need to know

With the enormous success of every Sims game ever released, The Sims 4 should have been flooded with pre-orders. But with the catastrophic launch of SimCity, fans were cautious.

So did The Sims 4 delivered? Is it as good as its predecessors? Reviewers can’t seem to agree. The game has a 70/100 Metascore, which is good but not great. When looking at the user reviews on Metacritic, it doesn’t look good for The Sims 4. The game has a 4.1/10 average score of over 2500 users. Often, the criticism comes for the same reasons: the world is too small and there aren’t enough things to do…

The Sims 4 is now free

But that was a long time ago (2014). A lot of features and new content has been added to the game. And now that you can get it for free on Origin, there is no reason not to give it a shot.

If you have, The Sims 4 should have enough depth and new features to be worth a shot, especially now that enough Expansions have been released that add more stuff to do. Having said that,  if you want to have it with all DLCs included, The Sims 4 can be very expensive.

The Sims 4 Mac requirements

⚠️ Note that these requirements do not mention Apple Silicon Macs, but we can confirm that M1 machines are perfectly capable of running The Sims 4.

Into Simulation games? These are our favorites:

Game	★ Our Pick	Also Great	Best Value
	Cities: Skylines	Farming Simulator 2022	Euro Truck Simulator 2
Genre	City-builder	Farming-sim	Truck-sim
Release date	2015	2021	2012
Metascore	85	78	79
Our rating	★★★★★ Full Review	★★★★☆ Full Review	★★★★★ Full Review
Requirements	High	Medium	Low
Check Price	Check Price	Check Price	Check Price

How to play The Sims 4 on Mac

As mentioned before, The Sims 4 runs natively on Mac, and that includes Intel-based and M1 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.

The Sims 4 running on an M1 Mac

This means The Sims 4 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 your Mac run The Sims 4? Benchmarks!

These are The Sims 4 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.

Intel benchmarks

We tested the game on the following machine:

• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016): 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB)
• iMac (5K, 27-inch, Late 2014): 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB)
• Mac Mini (Late 2014): 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris 5100 (1.5GB)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012): 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, GeForce GT 650M (1GB)

These are the settings we used to test The Sims 4 using our in-house FPS counter Count It for a fixed duration of 5 minutes:

• 1280×800 resolution
• Graphics Quality: Medium
• Vertical Sync: Off
• Retina display: Off

Can my Mac run The Sims 4?

If you own an M1 or M2 Mac, you can run The Sims 4 at high settings and resolution without a problem.

If you still own an Intel Mac, then it will depend on the type of machine you have. If you have a high-end Mac with dedicated graphics, you will be fine. Case in point, my 2014 iMac’s results. While nowhere near as fast as the latest M2 Macs, it still ran the game at 60 FPS using the Medium settings defined for these tests. And it only did 60 FPS because the game locked frame rates at 60 FPS maximum.

But what happens when we bump the graphics to make The Sims 4 shine? When increasing the settings to Ultra and raising the resolution to 2560×1440, the iMac still ran the game at 56.2 FPS.

Can you play The Sims 4 on a MacBook Pro?

In this case, The Sims 4 did great on my older Intel-based 13-inch MacBook Pro. The game ran at 54.9 FPS, which is almost double our 30 FPS target.

These results mean you could slightly increase the graphics settings and still get a smooth experience out of The Sims 4. I did two more tests on high and ultra settings, and as expected, there was still some room (although ultra is a little too much):

• 1280×800 and high settings: 44.5 FPS
• 1280×800 and ultra settings: 24.1 FPS

Takeaway: The Sims 4 is properly optimized for macOS and not particularly demanding. Any recent Mac should be able to handle it, even those with integrated graphics.

But what if you have an older Mac?

According to our results, there is hope for you. Our test 2014 Mac Mini ran the game at 45.40 FPS, which is way above our target. If your Mac is even older than that, it will depend on your machine’s graphics. If you have dedicated graphics, like our 2012 15-inch MacBook Pro, you should be fine.

And if you don’t and worry yours won’t be able to take it, you can always try Stardew Valley, an excellent, albeit different, simulation game that supports macOS.

Bottom line: Turns out, The Sims 4 is a forgiving game that should run just fine on most Macs out there (unless you have a pre-2012 Mac with integrated graphics). Maxis did a good job optimizing the game, but this is an inherently simple game (graphics-wise) that is not meant to push your machine to the max. After all, there are plenty of other games out there for that!

Download The Sims 4 for Mac

The Sims 4 is available for download for free on EA’s Origin platform.