How to Record Gameplay on Mac in 3 Ways

Quick Answer:
You can record a game on your Mac using an easy gameplay recorder like SurFlex Screen Recorder, the built-in QuickTime Player, or the freeware, OBS Studio. If you want to record gameplay with audio on your Mac, usinig SurFlex Screen Recorder is the easiest solution.

Just like recording gameplay on a PC, there are built-in and third-party game recorders available for capturing gameplay on a Mac. However, it’s important to note that Mac lacks the built-in capability to record internal audio. As a result, additional setups are required to enable your Mac to capture both the game visuals and audio simultaneously. If you are interested in learning how to record gameplay on a Mac, check this guide and you will get the easy answers.

How to Record Gameplay on Mac with Audio

Tool: SurFlex Screen Recorder

To record gameplay or other on-screen content on your Mac, SurFlex Screen Recorder will be helpful. It allows you to record the entire screen, a specific window, or any selected portion of the screen. Therefore, whether you are going to record full-screen games or capture a specific game window, it will do you a favor. Most importantly, SurFlex Screen Recorder can record audio during the game recording, making it easy for you to capture game audio, microphone sound, or both. Even if you want to record yourself playing a game, it will help you with its webcam recording feature.

To record gameplay on Mac:

Step 1. Launch the screen recorder on your computer and click Settings to customize the output settings.

Step 2. Select System Sound and Microphone as the audio recording option.

Step 3. To record yourself playing a game, enable Webcam recording and select the camera you’d like to use.

Step 4. Select the game window you’d like to capture and adjust the size and position of the webcam. When you are ready, click REC to start recording yourself playing a game.

Step 5. When you are done, click Stop and then go to the recording list to check the gameplay.

In addition to gameplay recording, SurFlex Screen Recorder works well in many other situations, such as meeting recording, streaming video recording, webcam recording, and more. If you need to capture video and audio often on your MacBook, don’t hesitate to give it a try.

How to Record Gameplay on MacBook Directly

Tool: QuickTime Player

If you want to record a game video on your MacBook without any third-party software, QuickTime Player will be a suitable choice for you. It helps to record the entire screen or a selected portion on your Mac in 4K, 1080p, 720p, and more, allowing you to record game clips in high quality.

However, it can only record microphone sound by default. If you want to record a game with its sound, you will need an extra audio driver like BlackHole to help. After you install and set up BlackHole on your Mac properly (you can refer to the guide on QuickTime audio recording for more details), you will be able to easily record game videos on your Mac with audio.

Step 1. Open QuickTime Player and click File > New Screen Recording.

Step 2. Click Options and select BlackHole (or any other audio driver you have set up) as the recording device.

Step 3. Select to record the entire Mac screen or a selected portion.

Step 4. When you are ready, click Record to start recording gameplay on your MacBook.

Step 5. Once the recording is finished, click the Stop button in the menu bar and export to save the game video.

Since you are a Mac user, there is a built-in video editor available for you, which is iMovie. If you want to edit the gameplay, you can use this app to get it done.

How to Record Game on Mac for Free

Tool: OBS Studio

Whether you want to record games on Windows or Mac, OBS Studio is a versatile solution that can meet your needs. It is a free, open-source, and cross-platform program designed for screen recording and live streaming. OBS Studio includes a game recording feature that allows you to capture gameplay from various games on your computer. Additionally, it supports recording yourself while playing a game by enabling a webcam overlay on the game video.

If you are seeking a free solution for game capture on Mac, OBS Studio is a valuable tool. To delve into more details about OBS game recording, check the guide on how to use OBS to record gameplay.

To record a game on Mac with OBS:

Step 1. Download and install OBS Studio on your Mac.

Step 2. Go to File > Settings > Output to select the output options.

Step 3. Go to Sources to add Game Capture and then select the target game. (You can also choose Window Capture or Display Capture.)

Step 4. Select other recording sources you need, such as Audio Output Capture.

Step 5. Click Start Recording in the Controls panel to start the game recording.

Step 6. When necessary, click Stop Recording and go to File > Show Recordings to check the gameplay.

Wrapping Up

Game capture on Mac can be easily achieved with the assistance of various game recorders. While there is a pre-installed screen recorder on Mac, it requires an additional audio driver to record game audio and cannot capture both microphone audio and system sound simultaneously. As a result, when you want to record yourself playing video games on a Mac, you will still require a third-party gameplay recorder to fulfill your needs effectively.