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Gaming on macOS is possible, but it’s not exactly a “plug-and-play” kind of experience — at least not for the vast majority of titles. There is always some kind of hurdle for one to overcome; a series of bottlenecks, loopholes, compatibility issues, and so on and so forth.
Apple’s own devices simply aren’t designed or built with gaming in mind. They’re for productivity workers, creatives, engineers, software developers, designers, and everyone in between. Still, that doesn’t mean they cannot be used for gaming purposes — far from it, in fact.
The latest ARM-based MacBooks are sort of in a weird position as they no longer have Boot Camp support, nor can one connect an external graphics card and boost their graphical performance.
Fortunately, there’s still a myriad of different ways in which one can game on macOS — methods which are a lot more streamlined and viable than one would expect!
Apple Arcade
We’re starting off with Apple’s own Arcade not because it’s the best choice but, rather, because it offers the most seamless, user-friendly experience — which is by design.
Now, to be fair, the Arcade itself doesn’t really feature any mind-blowing AAA titles, but it’s still packed with numerous different games which are both fun and cheap; if you’re just looking to “kill some time,” it sure will get the job done.
For a deeper look at some of its standout offerings, make sure to watch the following video:
Native macOS Games
There are actually more natively supported macOS titles than one would expect.
This includes one of the best games of all time in Disco Elysium, Minecraft, Resident Evil Village, Tunic, World of Warcraft (and WoW: Classic), and Among Us, amongst others.
Other macOS titles (32/64-bit) can still be run through the Rosetta 2 emulation layer, so they’re definitely worth taking a look at as well. Bioshock, Borderlands 2/3, Cuphead, Celeste, Civilization 6, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Cult of the Lamb, Dead Cells, Diablo III, League of Legends, DOTA 2, and many others.
This assemblage of games, while by no means spectacular, is still sufficient enough to help you burn the midnight oil and have some fun.
For a more complete list of titles, make sure to check out the following link.
Gaming Through Parallels/CrossOver
This is where things get a lot more interesting. Gaming on macOS with the help of Parallels or CrossOver is very much a viable option, although it does require ample tinkering and, in some cases, an additional investment.
Parallels, while definitely stellar, isn’t exactly the “go-to” choice for gaming as it requires you to employ both a virtual machine and at least one emulation layer (if not more). That’s… not ideal, but it works a lot better than one would expect.
The biggest downside comes from the fact that you’re already dedicating a good chunk of your MacBook’s resources (CPU, RAM, storage) to the virtual machine, so you’re never going to get a stellar level of performance — unless you limit yourself to legacy titles (and even then you’re prone to encounter graphical glitches and compatibility issues).
In other words, it’s not for the faint of heart.
CrossOver, on the other hand, uses Wine to translate Windows-related API calls into those that macOS can recognize and work with. It, too, is far from perfect, but it does provide a much smoother gaming experience. Compatibility issues still exist, but they’re actively being worked on and are decreasing in number with each passing day. Additional third-party fixes and tools can also be employed, sometimes to great effect.
It’s also worth noting that the CrossOver team is hard at work at getting full DirectX 12 support for ARM-based Macs. The fact that they’ve gotten Diablo II: Resurrected to run with very few issues and bugs speaks volumes and, needless to say, it bodes extremely well for the future of gaming on macOS.
For a more detailed list of compatible games, head over to AppleGamingWiki.
To learn more about this (wholly fascinating) topic, make sure to watch the following video:
Emulators [Native]
This, one could argue, is where ARM-based MacBooks shine brightest. Numerous different emulators like Ryujinx, Citra (Canary build), and RPCS3 have been ported and can now not only run natively without the use of Rosetta 2 but are also a lot faster than was the case in the past.
This means that, even on the base M1 MacBook Air, you’ll be able to get truly stellar performance, both in PlayStation 3 titles and those that were built for the Nintendo Switch. And, naturally, the more CPU/GPU cores you have the better these games will run, but even with a “measly” seven cores you’ll still get playable frame rates at native (console) resolutions.
This basically enlarges the list of playable titles on macOS by the thousands and, needless to say, makes Apple’s laptops a lot more alluring to all but the most demanding of gamers.
If you’re interested in learning more about macOS emulation, make sure to check out Andrew Tsai’s YouTube channel — he’s the first to cover all the latest breakthroughs and is prone to making user-friendly tutorials as well.
Cloud Gaming
Game streaming is a very divisive topic. Some people adore it, others can’t stand its very existence. Regardless of where you stand within this spectrum, it is an option. Services like Xbox Game streaming and NVIDIA GeForce NOW are readily available and, frankly, quite easy to set up.
Cloud gaming is never going to replace the “real deal,” but it sure is a nice way of accessing your library without having to think about stuff like hardware and software compatibility and everything which they entail.
Game Porting Toolkit — The Long-Awaited Breakthrough
Apple’s most recent WWDC keynote brought forth a truly unexpected treat: the Game Porting Toolkit. People have already gotten Diablo IV, Elden Ring, and Cyberpunk 2077 to run on Apple silicon Macs and, needless to say, they perform a lot better than one would expect given the sheer budding nature of this translation layer.
This, in short, means that the age of gaming on macOS has only just begun.
If you’re interested in giving Apple’s Game Porting Tookit a run, make sure to watch the following video as the procedure, while definitely not rocket science, isn’t for the faint of heart:
What Does the Future Hold for macOS Gaming?
That’s a very interesting question, and it’s interesting for one reason and one reason only: ARM-based MacBooks are actually a lot more capable at gaming than one would expect. The only thing missing, sadly, is developer support.
These sleek and powerful machines have been selling like hot cakes, but there’s still no big incentive for large game developers and studios to put in the time and effort in order to create native macOS ports of their titles.
It’s hard to guess what’ll happen next, but Apple isn’t going to sit idle for much longer — hence the Game Porting Toolkit and, presumably, everything else which this venerable company has in the pipeline. MacBooks will probably never become full-fledged gaming machines, but they will get newer AAA titles a lot more often than what was the case in the years prior.
Apple has also just announced a dedicated Game Mode for macOS Sonoma which will adjust your Mac’s resources in real time so as to boost frame rates and also lower both audio and input latency. A nifty quality-of-life improvement, no doubt.
This, in addition to dedicated tools and SDKs for game developers, will make macOS a much better platform for gaming in the not-so-distant future. It’s still way too early to give out any kind of prediction, but Apple is obviously interested in conquering at least a part of the gaming market, and these steps — while by no means earth-shattering — are nonetheless necessary.
Should You Buy a MacBook or Mac Device for Gaming?
Absolutely not. While that might seem like a no-brainer, a surprising number of people are now looking into buying a MacBook — or Mac device — just for gaming purposes. We’re talking about a tremendous investment that, frankly, is bound to yield unsatisfactory results.
Now, are Macs better at gaming than what the vast majority of people think? Without a doubt, but by no means do they offer a seamless — or even impressive — gaming experience, especially for the asking price.
If it’s gaming you’re after, you’re still better off going with Windows. And, frankly, that’s most definitely not going to change in the foreseeable future.
Conclusion — Gaming on macOS
In the end, it’s fair to say that gaming on macOS is in a much better state than what was the case just a few years ago. Things are improving at quite a rapid pace, with new breakthroughs happening every couple of months.
The sheer fact that ARM-based Macs can now run Cyberpunk 2077 and Diablo IV simply boggles the mind. These things were inconceivable just a few short weeks ago and yet, thanks to CodeWeavers’ efforts, they are now a reality.
And, needless to say, we cannot help but get excited for what’s to come in the months and years ahead!