Despite not officially releasing Zenless Zone Zero on Mac, there does exist an alternative method that can get the game working for owners of Apple Silicon machines (M1 or newer) – with native performance and controller support tech included.
An in-depth walkthrough of this particular method will be discussed in step-by-step detail below.
How to play Zenless Zone Zero on Mac using PlayCover
Using an application known as Playcover, we can leverage the ARM architecture of the M-series of Apple Silicon PCs and run iOS versions of games. Once you finish downloading and installing the latest, stable version of Playcover, head to a suitable IPA file hosting site (such as decrypt.day) and search for the term ‘Zenless Zone Zero’.
Select the game and hit download. Make sure to select the official version of the game – (from miHoYo/HoYoverse) and not any alternate links.
Next, follow the following steps in sequence to proceed with the installation:
- Boot up PlayCover. You can use the Finder app (Command + Space) to search for it.
- Click on the + icon within your App Library.
- Head to the Downloads folder, and double click on the IPA file you downloaded earlier.
- Wait for the game to finish installing – it might take a minute or two.
- Right click on the game icon and select the ‘Settings’ option.
- Head to the ‘Graphics’ tab and select your iOS device of choice as ‘iPad Pro (12.9 inch) (5th gen) | M1 | 8GB’.
- Next set your resolution as either 1440p or 1080p. These resolutions offer a solid 60 FPS against a very minimal loss in image quality.
- Keep the Resolution Scaler at 1.2 or lower.
- Exit the settings menu and double click the game icon to enter the game.
- Maximize the screen and play as usual.
While you can play Zenless Zone Zero using a controller on Mac, you will have to first head into the game’s settings menu and change the Input Type from Touch to Controller. Controller support should now be working, with a catch – the Touch controls remain mostly disabled.
Another quirk to keep in mind is that since this is the iOS version of the game, there will not be any keyboard and mouse support. Additionally, there is no way to uncap the frame rate either.
The game was tested using the base version of the M1 Macbook Air and performed superbly – with no glitches or stutters, delivering a smooth 60 frames per second.
