Star Wars: The Old Republic made a lot of noise when it first came out in 2011. It wasn’t only a huge and ambitious MMORPG, it was also a brand-new Star Wars game that promised to be bigger than any Star Wars game before it.
Based on estimates, Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SW: TOR, as the kids like to call it) is one of the most expensive games ever made. It also became the “fastest-growing MMO ever” when it reached 1 million subscribers within three days of its launch. Mac gamers, unfortunately, had to watch all of it from the sidelines, as the game was only released for Windows.
Dear BioWare, I'm wondering if in the future there will be a Star Wars: the old republic for mac? Running it on a bootcamped windows version, and going quite smoothly, but switching over all the time is kinda annoying and i really prefer using OSX instead of windows if im playing on a mac;p.
But then in January 2012, BioWare’s co-founders publicly stated that a Mac version of the game was on the table. Is SW: TOR ever coming to Mac? But even if it does, wouldn’t you be better off with one of the best MMORPG Mac games?
Is Star Wars: The Old Republic ever coming to Mac?
During an interview with Massively in January 2012, BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, had this to say about a Mac version:
Jan 03, 2012 Is there any news out about SWTOR comming to mac at any point? Thats all thanks:).
Is there any news out about SWTOR comming to mac at any point? Thats all thanks:).
I recently downloaded the free trial and so far I am having a blast with this game. I really like the Story cutscenes and the overall Bioware-ish feel of the game. Once I reach level 15 is it.
We know there’s a big Mac audience of BioWare fans… We know that’s an important and large audience. Free excel for mac. And we want to serve that audience.
Regarding a concrete time table, they added:
That’s definitely one of the things we’re looking at next. We want to get this launch under our belt and everything stabilized and happy, and then we’ll look at other platforms, and that’s obviously one of the first ones.
That made us hopeful but since that interview, both Muzyka and Zeschuk left BioWare, and not a single comment or statement regarding SW: TOR for Mac has been given.
Some claim a Mac port never happened because it wouldn’t be worth BioWare’s time. Looking at all the forum posts about this online, most notably The Old Republic‘s with 870 comments and Mac Rumors’ with 182,000 views, I beg to differ.
Either way, it’s already 2019 and it seems virtually impossible that SW: TOR for Mac ever happens.
How to play Star Wars: The Old Republic on Mac
A lack of a Mac version doesn’t mean SW: TOR can’t be played on Mac. How to check for malware on mac. It just means you’ll need Windows or another third-party tool. As you probably know, there are several ways to play Windows games on Mac.
So the question isn’t whether or not you can play SW: TOR on Mac. The question is how:
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Bootcamp and Parallels are both straightforward methods. Wine can be a little trickier but this Reddit guide is an excellent starting point if you’re willing to go that route. No matter what method you chose, make sure your Mac meets the game’s official Windows system requirements:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz or better
Operating System: Windows 7 or later
RAM: 3GB RAM
Graphics: 1GB RAM and support for Shader 3.0 such as Intel HD 3000 or better, AMD Radeon HD 7450, Nvidia GeForce 610 or better.
Running SW: TOR does require an extra effort, and after all these years, one has to wonder: Is it the best MMO you could be playing on your Mac?
Top SWTOR Mac alternatives
MMOs is the one genre where MacOS shines. MacOS doesn’t have all of the MMOs available on Windows but it certainly has the top ones. We’ve covered all the best MMORPGs for Mac, including premium and free-to-play ones.
There are too many excellent choices to mention them all, but if I had to recommend a few, these are our favorites:
Game
★ Best Overall
Best for MacBook
Best Value
Genre
Subscription-based
Pay once
Free-to-play
Release date
2004
2014
2012
Metascore
Our rating
★★★★★ Full Review
★★★★☆ Full Review
★★★★★ Full Review
Requirements
Medium
Medium
Low
Check Price
World of Warcraft
Swtor For Mac Download
World of Warcraft (WoW) is still the best MMO out there. It receives excellent Expansions, which even after all these years, manage to reinvent the game. Battle for Azeroth, the game’s latest Expansion, was somewhat criticized but Blizzard has been hard at work releasing patches to improve it.
Blizzard is definitely willing to go the extra mile and that’s why World of Warcraft is still the best.
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Online is a somewhat recent MMO that was also supposed to dethrone WoW but couldn’t. Nonetheless, it’s still a great MMO and the only Elder Scrolls game on Mac.
The same can be said about Final Fantasy 14, an MMO that might not be as good as WoW but still a great choice for Final Fantasy and anime fans.
If I had to recommend a free-to-play MMO, I would hesitate between The Lord of the Rings Online and Guild Wars 2, both excellent and generous in the amount of content you can enjoy without having to pay a dime.
Where to download SWTOR?
Swtor For Mac 2018
If you ever decide to give SWTOR a try, you can download the game’s Free-to-play version here.