Installing OpenRCT2 on macOS

Installing OpenRCT2 itself

To install OpenRCT2 on macOS, go to https://openrct2.io/ and download either the latest release or a development build. The builds are packages in a ZIP file. Extract it, then drag OpenRCT2.app to Applications.

Getting the RCT2 files (required)

In order to run, OpenRCT2 will need some files from RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. The best method will depend on your situation:

From a Windows machine/copied install

If you have a Windows machine at hand, you can simply install it and then copy the RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 folder to your Mac. It does not matter where you place this folder, but keep a note where you put it, as OpenRCT2 will ask for this location when it starts for the first time.

From a GOG.com offline installer

You will need to use the offline installer for the game, the default GOG Galaxy installer will not work with this method.

On gog.com, open your library. Hover over the thumbnail of RCT2 and a button with an arrow will appear. Click it, then select View Downloads. At the bottom of the pop-up there will be a section called “Download offline backup game installers”. Click the line under that and the installer will be downloaded.

Then, get this utility called Extractor: https://macsourceports.com/utility/extractor . Use the to extract the contents of the downloaded file somewhere you like. Keep a note of where you extracted it.

Once this is done, you can now start OpenRCT2. A file picker will open, direct to the directory where you extracted that GOG installer (hint: this directory will contain the rct2.exe file) and OpenRCT2 should now work.

Other methods

If you don’t have a Windows machine at hand, you can extract the files from a RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 installation disc or from Steam. You can read how to do this on this page: https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2/wiki/Installation-on-Linux-and-macOS

Running OpenRCT2

Once you installed OpenRCT2 and copied the necessary RCT2, you can attempt to run it. Most likely, macOS will not run the application, as it does not recognise it. You can whitelist the application by opening System Preferences, navigating to “Security & Privacy” and clicking “Open Anyway”.