Black Mesa on Mac

About Black Mesa

Black Mesa is the fan-made re-imagining of Valve Software’s Half-Life.
You are Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist at the Black Mesa Research Facility. When a routine experiment goes horribly wrong, you must fight your way through an interdimensional alien invasion, and a bloodthirsty military clean-up crew in order to save the science team… and the world!
Nineteen chapters of fighting through top-secret labs, running atop harsh desert landscapes, sneaking into abandoned railways, and leaping across dimensions
Mind-Blowing graphics and effects, never before seen on the Source Engine
Face off against an army of classic enemies, updated with new features and engaging AI
Wield an arsenal of military hardware, scientific prototypes, and the iconic crowbar through incredibly detailed environments
The all-new soundtrack and voice acting create a more immersive experience than ever before
Frag your friends across ten iconic maps from the Half-Life universe, including:
Bounce
Gasworks
Stalkyard
Undertow
Crossfire
Create your own mods, models, and maps with the Black Mesa Source SDK, and share it with the community on the Steam Workshop.
Collect the full set of trading cards, backgrounds, emoticons, and achievements! Featuring Steam Cloud, Steam Workshop, closed captions in multiple languages and partial controller support.
Run. Think. Shoot. Source.

How to Run Black Mesa on Mac

Mac Version 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 Black Mesa 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.

Black Mesa System Requirements

Windows
Mac OS X
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 7 64-bit or newer
    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 @ 2.80 GHz / AMD Athlon II X4 840 @ 3.10 GHz
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5770 or NVIDIA GeForce GTS450 with 1GB VRAM
    • Storage: 15 GB available space
    • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 7 64-bit or newer
    • Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.10 GHz
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Radeon HD 6850 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 with 1GB VRAM
    • Storage: 15 GB available space
    • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
    Minimum:
    • OS: OSX 10.10
    • Processor: Intel Core i5 @ 2.9 GHz 
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Radeon HD 6950m with 1GB VRAM
    • Storage: 15 GB available space
    Recommended:
    • OS: OSX 10.11
    • Processor: Intel Core i5 @ 2.9 GHz
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: AMD R9 390m or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750m
    • Storage: 15 GB available space
    Minimum:
    • OS: 14.04 LTS
    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 @ 2.80 GHz / AMD Athlon II X4 840 @ 3.10 GHz
    • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5770 or NVIDIA GeForce GTS450 with 1GB VRAM
    • Storage: 15 GB available space
    Recommended:
    • OS: 14.04 LTS
    • Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.10 GHz
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: Radeon HD 6850 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 with 1GB VRAM
    • Storage: 15 GB available space