PlanetSide 2 is a popular free to play game developed by Rogue Planet Games. It was originally released for Windows on 20 Nov, 2012.

You still can't play PlanetSide 2 on Mac because a native Mac version was never released, but you can play PlanetSide 2 on Windows running inside Mac. Here's how.

What is PlanetSide 2?

Here's a quick description:

PlanetSide 2 is an all-out planetary war, where thousands of players battle as one across enormous continents. Utilize infantry, ground and air vehicles, and teamwork to destroy your enemies in this revolutionary first-person shooter on a massive scale.

How to play PlanetSide 2 using Parallels

Even if you don't have a PC, you can install Windows on your Mac using Parallels. Parallels is virtualization software with full support of DirectX and GPUs, which will give you a decent graphics performance. With a couple of clicks, you can install Windows 10 on Mac and ten switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. You can run Windows just like on a regular PC, install Steam and enjoy PlanetSide 2 game on Mac.

Even though the virtualization is relatively easy to set up, it requires you to buy both Parallels and Windows licenses. Since you'll be running two operating systems side by side, you'll need to dedicate at least 20-30GB of disk space for this setup and also a strong machine to run both operating systems at the same time.

If you have an older Mac or have a Mac with an M1 chip which doesn't fully support virtualization yet, you might want to try a virtual computer running in the cloud such as Second Computer.

How to play PlanetSide 2 using Second Computer

Alternatively, you can create a virtual computer in the cloud using Second Computer. Instead of license fee for Windows and Parallels, you pay by the hour (so it's much cheaper if you are using it infrequently) and you control the computer via a web browser. That means even if you have an older computer, you can run the latest games in the cloud without maxing out your processor or memory.

One added benfit is that since the computer is located in the cloud, you can access it from any device you own. So in theory you can play PlanetSide 2 not just from your Mac, but also from your iPhone and Android device (it's not going to be a very nice experience though on such a small screen size).

Either way, Second Computer provides a nice alternative for running non-native Mac apps on your Mac by connecting to a computer in the cloud.

Happy gaming!