Valve has released a macOS version of its Steam Link app. Thanks to it, it is possible to stream PC games on a Mac. Here’s how.
You can now stream the Steam games installed on your PC from your Mac. Valve has updated its Steam Link application, originally intended only for iOS, to make it compatible with macOS. Now downloadable from the Mac App Store, this dedicated application allows you to stream Steam games installed on a PC from another device.
The Steam Link functionality was already available in the Steam client on Mac, but the particularly heavy application was not the most intuitive to use this mode. The issue is now resolved and streaming games from a PC to your Mac should take no more than a few seconds.
To take full advantage of Steam Link, however, you must meet some fairly specific prerequisites. Both your PC and your Mac must be connected to the same local network, and in the case of a wireless connection, use the 5 GHz Wi-Fi frequency, which is more robust and efficient.
Finally, if on mobile Steam Link displays touch controls, on macOS a compatible controller is essential. The application works with MFI (Made for iPhone) controllers, the Steam controller, as well as PS4 and Xbox One controllers.
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1. Download Steam Link
First, download the Steam Link app on your Mac. Available on the Mac App Store, it is free and only weighs 64.5 MB once installed.
Download Steam Link for macOS (Free)
2. Launch Steam on your PC
To be able to play your PC games by streaming from your Mac, it is obviously necessary that your PC on which your Steam games are installed, is on, and that Steam is open on the machine.
3. Launch Steam Link
From your Mac, open the Steam Link app. If all the prerequisites are met, your PC connected to the same local network as your Mac should appear in the application. Click on the icon that represents it to initiate the connection.
4. Confirm the connection between the Mac and the PC
On your Mac, Steam Link displays a four-digit PIN code.
This code must be entered in the Steam window on your PC in order to validate the connection between the two machines.
5. Test the network
Steam Link will then run a test of your network connection to determine if it is fast enough to stream Steam games from Windows to your Mac.
Wait a few moments until the test is complete. As soon as Steam Link detects that your network is capable of supporting 100 Mbps bandwidth, the test stops. Then click on the OK button.
6. Configure your controller
This step is not mandatory, but, depending on the controller you are using, Steam Link may offer you to configure it. Then follow the on-screen instructions to assign the buttons on your controller to the actions requested by Steam Link.
7. Start the streaming game
When all of the previous steps have been completed, Steam Link will display your PC’s Steam client interface on your Mac screen. All the actions you perform from your Mac are therefore also visible on the screen of the PC from which you stream Steam. You can then launch your game from your Mac as you usually do from your PC.
8. Quit Steam Link
When you are done playing, simply press the Esc button on your Mac keyboard to close the open game and return to the main Steam menu.
Press several times in a row until Steam displays the pop-up allowing you to Stop Remote Play and therefore stop the streaming between your Windows PC and your Mac.