The Viking Survival Valheim has sold millions and fascinates countless players on PC. However, so far only on PC – there are no ports for the major consoles PlayStation and Xbox, nor a version for Macs, Apple’s computers. The Valheim team gave an interesting answer as to why this is the case.
What is it about? The survival hit Valheim is one of the most popular games in recent months. Although only a small team worked on the production, the Viking survival game has sold over 6 million copies (via Steam). And the game is still in the testing phase (Early Access).
However, the game is currently only available on PC and for the Linux operating system. While it is possible to run the game on other platforms – officially there are only the PC and Linux versions. A user on Reddit asked the studio about a version for Mac and received a refreshingly honest answer.
What did the Valheim team say about it? The user “AdministrativePast17” posted the response from his email regarding the Mac version on Reddit:
Translation: “We currently do not offer Mac support because we do not have a Mac computer in our office. Providing support, fixing bugs, and testing would take many hours of development that we do not have at the moment. However, it is possible that Mac compatibility will be added at some point.”
At the launch in Early Access on Steam, only five developers worked on Valheim and apparently there was no die-hard Apple fan among them. Because the main reason for the lack of Mac support is simply the fact that they did not have a Mac in the office, said the employee from the studio “IronGate”.
How did this go over with players? In the Valheim subreddit, the thread could garner over 11,000 upvotes and has more than 1,200 comments (as of: April 7, 6:00 PM). The most popular comment is from “bman_78” and has a remarkable 4,300 likes: “The honesty of this answer is refreshing.” Many users seem to be used to a different kind of communication from developer studios.
A discussion then developed about how the small development studio is evolving with its success, what opportunities arise, and what risks such a sudden success brings.
However, a large part of the comments revolves around the fact that this whole issue is about Mac computers. Time and again, one reads “Mac is not for gaming” and various expressions of surprise about why anyone would even buy a Mac. The Valheim discussion nearly becomes a side topic.
What does Valheim generally say about other versions? In the FAQs of Valheim (via valheimgame.com), the developers explain how ports to other platforms stand:
Question: On which platform will Valheim be released?
Answer: Valheim will be released for Windows and Linux. Adding Mac support, fixing bugs, and testing would require many hours of development that we do not currently have, because we are prioritizing the completion of the Windows and Linux versions. We receive many requests for Mac compatibility, so it is possible that support will come later. As for the console release: we are not currently considering it. But it could be something we look into at a later date.
From the Valheim FAQs
The plans for a Mac version are therefore more concrete than a possible release on consoles. However, there is neither a timeline nor a really firm statement about whether the ports will actually come.
Still play on Mac: There are a few ways to play Valheim on your Mac already. One of them is the cloud service “Geforce Now” (via nvidia.com). You can play your purchased Steam games through the app by streaming them from the cloud. There is a free version, but the premium subscription is $9.99 per month. Here you can find more info about Geforce Now.
If you are a little more patient, you can also take the long route: A petition for the porting to Mac currently has 1,000 supporters (via change.org).
For everyone who has been with Valheim for a while, the Mac port is certainly not an issue. It is probably more exciting to see how you can turn Valheim into a true role-playing game on PC. However, the developers’ outlook that Mac computers and consoles may eventually be supported will surely delight players on other platforms.
