Zenless Zone Zero has been released, and it’s not surprising that there is no official version for macOS. However, don’t worry, as owners of M series devices have a very simple way to install the game.
There are some caveats and drawbacks, but Zenless Zone Zero works perfectly on my MacBook Pro (2021, M1 Pro, 16GB RAM).
However, we had issues getting the Xbox Series controller, so your results may vary.
How to Install Zenless Zone Zero on M Series MacBooks
Install PlayCover
- Go to the PlayCover website.
- Download the latest version.
- Double click and drag it to the «Applications» folder.
- You need to allow this in security settings.
- Try to open the app and wait for the security settings warning, click «OK».
- Use Spotlight (CMD+Space) and find Security.
- Go to the presented settings and scroll down.
- You will see a message asking for permission to run PlayCover. Allow it.
- PlayCover should now launch and be ready to use.
Now, as with retro emulation, we can’t share a direct link to the files. Although ZZZ is free, other hosted files may be paid. If you search for «Zenless Zone Zero IPA,» you will find it.
Install Zenless Zone Zero
Once you have the file, drag or import it through the screen menu to install the game. This will take a few minutes. Then launch the game and allow permissions.
Essentially, we are emulating the iOS and iPadOS versions of the game. This is a built-in feature of M series laptops that MiHoYo can leverage by allowing downloads from the Apple App Store.
They already allow Honkai Third Impact, so the absence of the trio Genshin Impact, Star Rail, and now ZZZ seems strange.
Zenless Zone Zero Crashes Unexpectedly on PlayCover
The app may sometimes behave unpredictably and not relaunch after closing.
The simplest way to work around this is to simply re-add the app to the launcher. This will just replace part of the app data but will maintain all 19GB of installation files and your logins.
Alternate Methods
We recommend following our Game Porting Toolkit guide if you are looking for a more «PC-like» gaming experience. It will walk you through developer tools, install your chosen launcher, and test the game for stability.
We didn’t recommend it today as the game looks great as is, if you tinker with resolution settings. We played on PlayCover’s iPad Pro settings (12.9-inch, 5th Gen), and aside from a few unexpected crashes, again, everything was just fine.
Installing on Intel macOS Devices
For Intel devices, you have several options. There is Bootcamp, which will perform dual booting Windows on your device.
To do this, you will need to create a Windows installation USB drive, we have a guide on how to do this. Then download Bootcamp (Spotlight find it through CMD+Space) and follow the installation instructions. This will help you partition the disk to accommodate both operating systems simultaneously.
We recommend doing this on the internal drive and allocating at least 256GB of free space.
After installation, simply download Zenless Zone Zero through the Epic Store or HoYo Player.
