Note With the release of macOS Catalina 10.15.4 update, Apple improved connectivity of Bluetooth devices.

Can I play Microsoft Flight Simulator on Mac?

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a new generation of flying simulators and here you can find everything from light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft. Here you can challenge your pilot skills against the challenges of night flying, real-time atmospheric simulation and live weather in a dynamic and living world. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But unfortunately this game requires Windows and there is no version of Microsoft Flight Simulator for Mac OS. So our community is left without a ready to go version of the game. For the most people Mac OS is not associated with the real gaming experience. It goes without saying that mainly Mac OS devices are made for the study- and job-related purposes. But now it’s not a problem at all! There are a huge number of ways to run Windows games on this platform. It doesn’t matter which version of MacOS you use: Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, OS X; You can easily play Witcher 3, Counter Strike GO, Dota 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, APEX, Mount & Blade II Bannerlord, GTA V and other top games on your favorite platform. In this article you can find the way that suits you and that will respond to your needs. After reading it you will definitely find the best way to play Microsoft Flight Simulator on Mac OS and to challenge your pilot skills!

Article’s Guide

Run Microsoft Flight Simulator on Mac with Parallels

Parallels is the virtualization software that allows you to run Windows and Microsoft Flight Simulator on Mac OS with the help of virtualization. This program can be outlined for DirectX 11 support using Apple Metal. The meaning of it is that your Mac can render 3D graphics up to 15 percent faster than other programs. It will close you to the native gaming experience. Moreover, Parallels also supports new Sidecar features. This means you’ll be able to use Windows apps on an iPad when you’re using it as a second screen for your Mac, and it also includes improved Apple Pencil support. Furthermore, there is no need to reboot your device after the playing. So as you can see this program has a great variety of pros. Try it now!

_{You will be redirected to the purchasing page. The home version is enough to run the game. Note: the performance depends on the hardware of your device.}

Play Microsoft Flight Simulator with Boot Camp

Boot Camp gives you an opportunity to launch Microsoft Flight Simulator on your Mac OS natively. All you need is to launch Boot Camp and install Windows with the help of this application. Then you can simply launch Windows and then run any game you need. However, this solution is not so fast, as Parallels, as Boot Camp requires a great amount of hard disk resources to work. So you need a very fast hard drive. Moreover, when you are done with the game and you need to return to Mac OS, you will have to reboot your device. So you should be ready to some performance issue while playing. If you are still not sure, we have one more solution for you!

Play Microsoft Flight Simulator with GeForce Now

GeForce Now is one of the best solutions to play Microsoft Flight Simulator on Mac OS. All you need is to purchase the subscription and already made gaming library. Technically, you rent a very powerful computer, which streams the gameplay right for you. Don’t be afraid of stutters and freezes – the hardware of these computers will perform any game with ultra settings. However, you need good internet speed to enjoy the gameplay. Still, if this solution doesn’t respond to your needs, try the next one!

FINAL WORDS: however, there are not all possible solutions to run Microsoft Flight Simulator on your favorite platform, but they are the best ones. GeForce Now can give you the best experience, but it requires a fast internet connection. Boot Camp is also OK, but it requires a lot of free disk space and its performance can vary. Parallels can be the best choice too, but it also depends on Mac’s hardware. If you have other opinion on this point or want to tell us about the really best way to play Windows PC games on a Mac, comment below! Thanks for your attention!

All Mac® users know about the Mac App Store®, and most have probably used it to get an app or two. If you’re also a Parallels Desktop® for Mac user, there’s another store you should check out: the Microsoft Store.

The Microsoft Store is accessible from Windows 8 or 10—but in all practical terms, this means onlvidy Windows 10, since Windows 8 is used so rarely these days.

The Microsoft Store is for all things to play or consume on Windows 10: movies, music, apps, books, fonts, extensions to the Edge browser, and even hardware. In Apple® terms, it’s iTunes®, the Mac App Store, iBooks®, and the Apple Store® all rolled into one. However, in this blog post, I will focus mainly on apps available from the Microsoft Store.

Accessing the Store

Just as Apple has the App Store app, Microsoft has the Microsoft Store app. (See Figure 1.)

Here are some apps I have downloaded from the Microsoft Store, none of which are available on the Mac App Store:

*Available for the iPhone®/iPad® in the Apple App Store.

All of these apps run fine for me on my MacBook Pro® in a Windows 10 VM using Parallels Desktop 14—with the single exception of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. I used every setting I know to get this app to run with acceptable performance, but in the end, I gave up. (Age of Empires is my favorite game of all time, as I posted back in 2014.)

You can predict whether an app in the Microsoft Store will run in Parallels Desktop by looking at its system requirements from within your virtual machine. (See Figure 2.)

Figures 3–5 show some other apps from the Microsoft Store running in Parallels Desktop on my MacBook Pro.

Video 1 shows some games from the Microsoft Store running in Parallels Desktop 14 on my MacBook Pro:

And Video 2 shows some of the 3D models available for the Sensavis Visual Learning Tool:

As of today, there are about 800,000 Windows 10 apps in the Microsoft Store, as opposed to only about 11,000 in the Mac App Store. There are a number of excellent apps in both stores, and the Mac user with Parallels Desktop can take advantage of both to find the perfect app for your needs.

Have you found a particularly useful or novel app on the Microsoft Store? If so, tell us about it in the comments.