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Riot Games' free-to-play tactical shooter, Valorant, is popular for its addictive five versus five competitive mechanisms. However, its platform availability may be a major restriction to its success.
The popular Agent-based shooter is only available to play on Windows-based systems. Hence, players cannot download the game on Mac straightforwardly. However, one can still use a third-party software program to experience the tactical shooter on MacOS.
Valorant is not available on Mac natively, but Apple's Bootcamp can do the trick
Valorant was officially introduced to the FPS fandom in mid-2020 following a successful beta period. Two and half years later, the game is still restricted to Windows-based machines, even in a promising market for FPS games on consoles.
Mac systems, although powerful, also miss out on the tactical shooter, which is surprising as Riot Games' highly popular MOBA game, League of Legends, received a Mac OSX port. While a Mac OSX adaption for Valorant isn't impossible, the developers have shown no signs of interest in this category yet.
However, Mac users can bypass this situation with Apple's official Bootcamp Assistant, which lets them install Windows 10 on their computers.
Requirements for Valorant on Mac (The official Apple method)
All you need is a modern Mac system (it should feature an Intel processor) running on the latest updates and 64 GB of free storage space (128GB recommended for better performance).
You will also require a 16 GB external USB drive and a product key to validate a 64-bit Windows 10 Home or Pro version. However, you won't require an external drive if you have one of the following systems:
- MacBook Air from 2017 or later.
- MacBook, MacBook Pro, or iMac from 2015 or later.
- iMac Pro.
- Mac Pro from 2013 or later.
Also, download the official Windows ISO image for any of the versions onto your system; this will be required to create a bootable flash drive or install the Windows operating system.
Install Windows 10 on a Mac system using Bootcamp to play Valorant
Once you ensure the aforementioned requirements, you can start installing Windows on a Mac machine. However, check if Secure Boot is enabled for your system. Without the Secure Boot setting enabled, you'll be unable to install Windows or play Valorant.
Open the Bootcamp Assistant on your system and follow the on-screen instructions to create a bootable flash drive. You will also be asked to create a partition for Windows; make sure you set it according to your needs. You won't be able to change the partition size later, so accommodating is wise at first.
Once Bootcamp finishes creating the partition, it will close, and a Windows Installer will show up. Select the partition you created and complete the installation following the on-screen instructions.
Once the installation is complete and Windows updates all system drivers, you can install and play the shooter without hiccups. Visit Riot Games' website to download the game, and the installation should start without issues.
Bootcamp Assistant is the official way to download Windows 10 on Mac and, thus, a successful workaround to play Valorant on such computers. Moreover, it also saves Riot Games from creating an official port, which requires a lot of development time.
