Starbound on Mac

About Starbound

In Starbound, you create your own story – there’s no wrong way to play! You may choose to save the universe from the forces that destroyed your home, uncovering greater galactic mysteries in the process, or you may wish to forego a heroic journey entirely in favor of colonizing uncharted planets.
Settle down and farm the land, become an intergalactic landlord, hop from planet to planet collecting rare creatures, or delve into dangerous dungeons and lay claim to extraordinary treasures.
Discover ancient temples and modern metropolises, trees with eyes, and mischievous penguins. Make use of hundreds of materials and over two thousand objects to build a sleepy secluded cabin in the woods, a medieval castle, underwater arcade, or even a space station.
Starbound has been built from the ground up to be multiplayer and easily moddable. You have the tools to make the universe your own and modify the game to suit your play style – add new items, races, planet types, dungeons, and quests – the possibilities are limitless.
Choose from one of 7 playable races and customize your character
Save the universe in an epic story campaign featuring colorful characters, bosses, dungeons, and quests!
You’re the captain of your very own starship! Decorate it, expand it, and use it to explore a procedurally generated universe
Colonize uncharted planets and collect gifts from your tenants – if they like you, they may even ask to join your ship crew!
Three game modes – Casual (no need to eat), Survival (eat to survive/drop items on death) and Hardcore (permadeath)
Craft thousands of objects – building materials, armor, weapons, furniture and more
Capture unique monsters to fight alongside you
All content is available in online drop-in/drop-out co-op
Built from the ground up to be easily moddable. You have the tools to make the universe however you’d like it

How to Run Starbound on Mac

Mac Version Not Available

Option 1: Use Parallels

Parallels is the fastest, easiest, and most powerful option to run Windows on your Mac. Data can be shared between Mac and Windows and switching between the two is as simple as switching screens. Run it On Mac recommends Parallels as the #1 best way to run Starbound on your Mac desktop or laptop.

Pros: Very Cost-Effective; Easily transfer files; Easily switch between Windows & Mac.

Cons: May see a slight decrease in performance; Cost varies from $50-80 for a personal license.

Option 2: Use Bootcamp

Boot Camp is a boot utility included with most Apple desktop and laptop products that allows users to install a Windows operating system alongside the native macOS/OS X operating system. Using Bootcamp is a relatively technical process and should probably only be undertaken by someone who understands the process.

Pros: Free; Good option if you need high performance or are using an older machine.

Cons: Switching between operating systems requires a restart; difficult, technical installation process.

Starbound System Requirements

Windows
Mac OS X
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 7
    • Processor: 2.3 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo / 2.5 GHz, AMD A6-9220
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Video Card: 512 MB, NVidia / AMD Radeon / Intel (HD 3000, HD 4000) with support for Pixel Shader 3.0 (AMD Radeon X1000 not supported)
    • Hard Disk Space: 8.5 GB
    • Additional: Broadband Internet connection
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 7/8/10
    • Processor: 2.3 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo / 2.5 GHz, AMD A6-9220
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Video Card: 1024 MB, NVidia GeForce 650 / AMD Radeon HD 5750
    • Hard Disk Space: 8.5 GB
    • Additional: Broadband Internet connection
    Minimum:
    • OS: Snow Leopard
    • Processor: 2.3 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo / 2.5 GHz, AMD A6-9220
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Video Card: 512 MB, NVidia / AMD Radeon / Intel HD 3000, HD 4000
    • Hard Drive: 8.5 GB
    • Other Requirements: Broadband Internet connection
    • Additional: Not recommended for Intel integrated graphics or Mac Minis or early-generation MacBooks
    Recommended:
    • OS: Mavericks
    • Processor: 2.3 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo / 2.5 GHz, AMD A6-9220
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Video Card: 1024 MB, NVidia GeForce 650 / AMD Radeon HD 5750
    • Hard Drive: 8.5 GB
    • Other Requirements: Broadband Internet connection
    • Additional: Not recommended for Intel integrated graphics or Mac Minis or early-generation MacBooks
    Minimum:
    • OS: Most modern Ubuntu distributions 13.04 or higher, SteamOS
    • Processor: 2.3 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo / 2.5 GHz, AMD A6-9220
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Video Card: 512 MB, NVidia / AMD Radeon / Intel (HD 3000, HD 4000) with support for Pixel Shader 3.0 (AMD Radeon X1000 not supported)
    • Hard Disk Space: 8.5 GB
    • Additional: Broadband Internet connection
    Recommended:
    • OS: Ubuntu 14.04, SteamOS
    • Processor: 2.3 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo / 2.5 GHz, AMD A6-9220
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Video Card: 1024 MB, NVidia GeForce 650 / AMD Radeon HD 5750
    • Hard Disk Space: 8.5 GB
    • Additional: Broadband Internet connection