Why did you get that error?
If you’re trying to play PC games on your Mac using Whisky, you might run into issues, especially with newer versions of Steam. Since Whisky is no longer actively maintained, it’s increasingly incompatible with the latest Steam updates. Many users on Mac M1, M2, M3, and M4 chips report a Whisky error 0x3008 where Steam fails to open, instead showing a dialog box with options to quit or restart.
Don’t worry, there’s a workaround! In this post, we’ll guide you step by step through how to fix the Steam not launching issue on Mac. Whether you’re looking to play games on Mac, run Windows games on Apple Silicon, or just want a free way to get started, we’ll help you make it work.
How to fix it?
Follow these instructions:
Press Cmd-Shift-K from the Whisky app or go to File > Kill All Bottles.
In your Whisky Steam configuration, add the first arguments:
The link will not open in a browser; however, it is still active.
-forcesteamupdate -forcepackagedownload -overridepackageurl http://web.archive.org/web/20250306194830if_/media.steampowered.com/client -exitsteamThis will reinstall a previous Steam version dated March 6, 2025. Keep in mind that using an outdated Steam client is not recommended by Valve, as it may pose security vulnerabilities. Continue only if you understand and accept the risks involved.
Click the Run button to launch Steam. It will launch, show an update installer dialog, and then close.
Replace the arguments you added with the following arguments:
-noverifyfiles -nobootstrapupdate -skipinitialbootstrap -norepairfiles -overridepackageurlClick the Run button again. It should work. If it still doesn’t work, then create a new bottle and reinstall Steam there. You can delete your old bottle if you don’t need it anymore
Note that any shortcuts you have made will have to be removed and regenerated.
Check the full video tutorial here:
