As a rule, I enjoyMacs. I’ve used them for school and work alike, and never had any major complaints about getting things done. I do find some of the tropes ofmacOSa little counterintuitive, but that’s probably because I started out with DOS andWindows, and use Windows at home most of the time. I’m sure many Mac aficionados find Windows baffling.
Macs also tend to be well-built and long-lived, so long as you don’t run into problems like the faulty “butterfly” keyboards Apple experimented with on MacBooks. So why, then, am I playing all of my games on a Razer laptop and aSteam Deck? The answer is Apple’s approach to gaming, or maybe the lack of one, depending on your perspective.
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)
5 top reveals from WWDC 2025: Windows Vista-like glass redesign, Mac-style iPadOS changes, and more
Apple has announced a slew of new features across its portfolio of operating systems.
The hardware gap
Playing nice with the industry
A major issue at the moment is Apple Silicon. Don’t get me wrong – the M4 processors in the latest Macs can handle many tasks with ease, including the existing macOS gaming library. But that library is limited, in no small part because Macs depend on system-on-chip processors for everything, including graphics. There’s no Mac with an AMD or Nvidia graphics card built in, and you can’t even add one yourself, since the platform lacks external GPU (eGPU) support.
Some categories of gaming are underrepresented or outright absent on the Mac for performance reasons.
That wouldn’t matter so much if it weren’t for the fact that many games are built around dedicated GPUs, whether in terms of rendering tech or the video memory and horsepower they provide. That can make them tougher to port, and it’s often not worth the effort for developers given the larger PC and console gaming audiences. Activision/Blizzard could hypothetically produce a Mac version ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6right now – but it would have to tweak graphics performance, and the labor needed to port the game might be better put towards the next big franchise entry.
Some categories of gaming are underrepresented or outright absent on the Mac for performance reasons. While simulation (or sim-style) games like War Thunder and No Man’s Sky are available, you won’t find something as advanced as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Virtual reality is complicated at best on a Mac, so you won’t be playing Half-Life: Alyx, or probably even something simple like Pools.
Cloud gaming could be a way around some of this, since it shifts the processing burden to remote servers. It’s not always practical, however – on top of a subscription service, you need a bulletproof internet connection to minimize input lag and visual artifacts. Trying to play Half-Life: Alyx over a cloud service would make you nauseous regardless.
Watching movies and TV shows in Apple’s Vision Pro is mesmerizing and tiring
The Vision Pro straps a movie theater to your face, but comfort and eye strain issues almost ruin the experience.
Apple’s missing software support and promotion
Lost in a maze of confused interests
Even if Apple were to ship a Mac with an Nvidia RTX 5080 card tomorrow, however, there would be another problem: a lack of effort to attract game studios. A monster gaming rig is pointless if no one wants to produce games for it.
Apple seems to spend little time pursuing Mac developers. It updates and expands its development tools every year, but offers few if any incentives to port games over, much less produce Mac exclusives. This isn’t even a recent trend – infamously, Apple lost the original Halo to Microsoft, despite the fact that Steve Jobs himself introduced the game at the 1999 Macworld Expo. The company’s executives have never considered gaming a priority, despite opportunities being placed right in front of them.
One of the reasons people keep flocking back to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft is that those companies are wise enough to buy or partner with developers.
More effort is needed because there’s a vicious circle at work. Without enough high-profile Mac titles to play, gamers choose PCs or consoles instead. Apple leadership sees weak gaming-related revenue, and decides it’s wiser to invest elsewhere, resulting in a platform that’s not amenable to high-profile games. Lather, rinse, repeat.
It’s all the more maddening because Apple has better business models to copy from. One of the reasons people keep flocking back to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft is that those companies are wise enough to buy or partner with developers, ensuring they have a steady supply of triple-A titles. Sure, Sony has increased the number of PC ports it puts out – but if you want the latest Naughty Dog or Sucker Punch release, it’s going to be on the PlayStation 5 first. Similarly, Microsoft will always have access to the latest Doom, Call of Duty, and Elder Scrolls games, since it owns both Bethesda and Activision/Blizzard.
I didn’t realize how much Wi-Fi was slowing down my video game console
Wi-Fi provides plenty of convenience, but a connected console is key for competitive gaming.
What could Apple do to remedy Mac gaming?
Some final thoughts
One thing’s for sure: the new Games app formacOS Tahoeisn’t the answer. It should simplify launching games and adjusting settings, but that’s akin to giving someone a motorboat to escape the Titanic instead of avoiding the iceberg in the first place.
Apple’s first move should be to subsidize Mac development. That is, it needs to fund ports of games that will work on Apple Silicon, giving people more things to play. That funding also shouldn’t come with any major strings attached – developers should be free to sell beyond the Mac App Store, on any platform they choose. It’s difficult enough for studios to survive without artificially restricting sources of income. In terms of attracting gamers, simply guaranteeing that anticipated titles will be on the Mac could make a world of difference.
Better still would be the funding of entirely new games, with serious promotion behind them rather than just App Store pages, press demos, and three seconds of footage in a TV ad. A few successes along those lines could get the ball rolling, convincing gamers and developers alike that the Mac is a worthwhile home.
My personal prediction is that it will be years before Apple gets Mac gaming in order, if it ever does.
Apple may need to join its rivals in making acquisitions – serious ones, though. Recently it bought out RAC7, the creators of Sneaky Sasquatch, but that’s a two-person team with a single hit. What would really help is a small stable of mid-sized studios, ready to churn out a constant stream of Mac-first releases.
I’m not holding my breath on that front. In fact, my personal prediction is that it will be years before Apple gets Mac gaming in order, if ever. Even if it doesn’t hold course, it might decide there’s more potential in standalone AR/VR headsets, just like Meta did with the Quest. Tell you what – I’ll seriously consider buying a Mac again if I can play something like Half-Life 3 on launch day.
5 impactful iOS 26 changes you may have missed during Apple’s WWDC keynote
iOS 26 has officially been unveiled, and here five of the most useful features coming with the update.
