How to Play PUBG on Mac

Playing PUBG on Mac is easy and all you need to buy is Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds on Steam. You don’t need any special hardware, a Windows license or any other annoying steps. It’s possible to play PUBG on Mac with Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming service.

After signing up, all you have to do is connect your Steam library and start playing. This will work on any Mac, even a MacBook or an older MacBook Air, as all the heavy lifting for graphics happens on the Nvidia Server. GeForce Now hasn’t been charged yet, and there’s no timeline for when they’ll charge users. Nvidia is focusing on bringing the service to more users and providing improvements, so you can expect to use GeForce Now for free for a while.

PUBG is complete on PC, which means you’ll get more flashy gameplay than playing on Xbox One, and you’ll also get the new Desert Map. At the end of the day, this will only cost you $30 unless you decide to buy a mouse for gaming, as most trackpads make bad gaming companions. You can also use this method to play PUBG on any computer even with a slow graphics card, but we’ll go into this option further in a separate guide.

What is PUBG?

PUBG or Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds is a battle royale-style game where 100 players parachute onto a map, each taking a different route, each time. You race towards where you’ll find weapons, armor, grenades and vehicles scattered across houses and buildings. You’ll need to equip yourself with gear and then take out anyone who lands near you.

From there, the map forces players to a final showdown in a very small area. As is known, the blue zone takes your health away from you and you will want to stay ahead of it while destroying other players. You can play aggressive PUBG by going after everyone you see and hear, or you can sneak up and let other players pass you by to live longer and play in a later circle.

Weapons and gear are randomly generated each time you play, so it’s a new game every time you parachute.

How to Play PUBG on Mac

Use GeForce Now to play PUBG on Mac at no additional cost.

You can play PUBG on Mac with your existing computer, two free accounts, and a $30 copy of PUBG. You don’t need to run Boot Camp or use Windows on your Mac; This means that once you access GeForce Now, it’s a simple process that will get you started playing very quickly.

1. Download GeForce Now for Mac
2. Sign up for a free Nvidia Account.
3. Join the GeForce Now Waitlist or enter a GeForce Now Beta code.
4. Connect your Steam Account to GeForce Now.
5. Buy PUBG on Steam for 30 bucks.
6. Click on Install and PUBG will be installed on your GeForce Now account in seconds.
7. Launch PUBG and start playing on your Mac.

This works because Nvidia builds a gaming PC for you in the cloud. This handles all the power you need for good graphics and then the system transfers the game to your computer. You will need an internet connection of at least 25 Mbps and Nvidia recommends 50 Mbps for optimum results. The GeForce Now app will test your network to see if you have a good enough connection to play.

You need a good internet connection for this to work.

From there you’re ready to play, but you may want to go to the GeForce Now app settings and turn on Ultra Streaming mode. This reduces details in the game to help reduce lag. Basically this means that the graphics aren’t that good, but your game should run more smoothly than with full graphics. This helps if your internet connection is not good.

What It’s Like to Play PUBG on Mac

I tested this using my 2016 MacBook Pro with an old Logitech Performance MX mouse nearby. For future games I plan to add headphones as it allows you to easily identify where people are on the map compared to using speakers.

Playing PUBG on Mac is both fun and rewarding with GeForce Now.

Wired connection has a huge advantage after playing PUBG for a few games on Mac. It’s the first game I played on WiFi just meters from my router, and despite it saying I had a good enough connection, I noticed a lot of lag and distorted visuals. When playing a second game with an Ethernet cable plugged in via my Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Express dock, the quality was impressive and arguably better than playing the game preview on my Xbox One X.

When connected via a wired connection, latency was minimal and I was able to aim and engage in gunfights very well. Playing PUBG on GeForce Now is better than playing with an Xbox Controller when it comes to any long range gunfights, and I think with more practice the same will be true for closer encounters.

One great thing about using GeForce Now to play PUBG on Mac is that there are no updates to install, no drivers to mess with, and no need to upgrade my PC with a new GPU every year. This takes the hassle out of PC games and brings them to any game on Steam. You can also use GeForce Now on PC to play games on basically any PC. Just make sure you have a good internet connection when you want to play.