CrossOver Support - Community Forums

I'm aware this question must be ridiculous but I'm an absolute beginner with CrossOver. So I have installed Steam and I wonder if it's possible to choose and install a Mac version of a game when it's available, and if so, is it better ?

Thank you !!

I don't use Steam but at GOG.com any game you buy is yours for any OS, no need to buy it multiple times. So if the game is available at GOG you can try both the native Mac version (if there is one) as well as the Windows version in Crossover and decide for yourself which runs better on your specific system. Another advantage of GOG is that while games can be installed and run through their "GOG Galaxy" downloader/updater/manager every game always has an "offline backup installer" so there's no need to fuss with GOG's own software in order to play a game purchased there. (There are some advantages to using GOG Galaxy such as automatic updates but I prefer to not bother with such things whenever possible.)

Perhaps Steam gives you ownership of both the Mac and Windows versions of any game you buy there; but I doubt it. Which is a shame because the only way to know if a specific game or other application runs better on your system in Mac native mode or Windows mode via Crossover or some other version of WINE is to try them both. There's no simple answer such as, "Mac native is always better!" or "The Windows version of the game always has more features!" because neither of those statements is universally true.

Note that Crossover, a commercial version of WINE, provides a means of running WINDOWS applications while booted into MACOS. If you want to use a Mac native application you don't use Crossover to run it. In the case of Steam, you would need to install the Steam client into a bottle and then install the Windows game you want into that bottle; and if you want the Mac version of that game from Steam you will need to install the Mac version of Steam – not into a Crossover bottle but just onto your Mac the same way you'd install any other Mac native application.

Note also that because different games require different Windows components or settings that it is best to install only one Windows application per bottle, in the case of Steam games that would be the Steam client plus one game per bottle.

On Steam you have Steam Play which means you buy one game and can play it on Mac/Win/Linux, no need for different licenses. In Crossover you can only install Windows games. If there is a Mac version you have to install it as usual through Steam for Mac, not Crossover. Mac ports, especially native ARM64 versions run best on Macs but some older games like Sleeping Dogs and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor run better in Crossover because in those cases they use OpenGL on Mac and DirectX Win versions run better in Crossover so you have to test for yourself or look in the compatibility database.

thank you for these infos, nice help !