Age of Empires IV on Mac

MacGames runs Age of Empires IV on Apple silicon Macs. It sets up Steam in a Windows environment, turns the game's DirectX 12 into Metal, and runs its x87 math through x87sidecar.

Steam, in the shared Steam libraryApple D3DMetal

Download MacGames All games

What MacGames does for it.

Age of Empires IV (AoE4) is a Windows game. MacGames brings the parts it needs to run on a Mac, and sets them up for you.

Fast x87 math
Age of Empires IV uses old x87 math, which Rosetta 2 translates slowly. On the game build it was made for, the game runs under x87sidecar, which translates that math much faster. Any other build falls back to standard Wine on its own.
DirectX 12 through Metal
Apple's D3DMetal turns the game's DirectX 12 calls into Metal.
Game controllers
Controllers work through SDL, also when the game window is in the back.
Settings on its page
Turn the x87 optimization and the Metal performance HUD on or off on the game's page in MacGames.

Store: Steam, in the shared Steam library. Age of Empires IV on Steam
Graphics: Apple D3DMetal
Mac: Apple silicon, M1 or later
macOS: 26 or later, with Rosetta 2

From Set up to Play.

Set up

Download MacGames, choose Age of Empires IV and press Set up. MacGames checks your Mac and makes a Windows environment for the game.
Install

Steam opens. Sign in with your own account, then install Age of Empires IV and keep the default folder.
Play

Press Play. The game starts with its renderer, its fixes and your settings.

Questions.

Do I need to buy Age of Empires IV again?

No. You sign in to your own Steam account and install the copy you own. MacGames never includes or downloads games itself.

Which Macs can run it?

A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 26 or later, with Rosetta 2. MacGames tells you how to install Rosetta 2 if it is missing. Frame rates depend on your Mac.