Valve Drops Mac Support for SteamVR Less Than Three Years After WWDC 2017 Announcement

Valve on Thursday announced that SteamVR no longer supports macOS so that its team "can focus on Windows and Linux."

valve steamvr mac
As noted by UploadVR, Mac users will still be able to use SteamVR by running Windows with virtualization software like Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. Valve says legacy builds of the virtual reality platform will also remain accessible on the Mac by right-clicking on SteamVR in Steam and selecting Properties > Betas.

Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi announced that SteamVR was coming to the Mac at WWDC 2017, but a recent Valve survey indicated that more than 95 percent of Steam users are running Windows or Linux.

Multiple reports have indicated that Apple plans to release a combination AR/VR headset by 2021 or 2022, followed by sleeker AR glasses by 2023.

Tags: SteamVR, Valve

Top Rated Comments

DJC631 Avatar
51 months ago
Not a surprise since Apple's support for Mac gaming is non-existent.
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
51 months ago
This is not surprising at all. Apple has not been friendly to developers who want to write cross-platform, enduring code, doing things like deprecating OpenGL and 32-bit support and just in general constantly making it difficult for people to keep old code working. Hell, the rumors of transitioning to ARM suggests this is going to get even worse.

Meanwhile Windows can still run binaries from 20 years ago without much issue. Windows is the gold standard for keeping code working for a long time, second only to IBM zSeries (mainframes).

As much as I love MacOS, I hate that Apple has zero respect for old software. I built a gaming machine not too long ago and no longer give a hoot about gaming on MacOS.
Score: 67 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
51 months ago
Not surprised, only a tiny fraction of Mac machines have the GPU required to use VR.

Also, given the fact that Mac user base is small compared to PCs... it's not worth while for Valve.

No serious gamer really uses a Mac for games, they use Windows PCs, and Consoles.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LuciusMalfoy Avatar
51 months ago

It is only a question or market share, Macs can be great for gaming. OS is super stable, Metal is pretty fast. Toxic comment like yours are another reason.
Toxic? It's not toxic when it's a valid criticism. I want gaming on Mac to thrive. Apple has done little on their end to bring this to reality. MacOS may be ready for prime time, but lets be real the hardware side is very lacking to take advantage of that.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
utterer Avatar
51 months ago
They should have announced they were discontinuing support at the same time they were announcing support for it. Anyone who is involved with gaming at all knew any type of realistic VR solution on Mac was a pipe dream.

Apple is stubborn in their support for the standards needed for gaming. The big game devs aren't going to rewrite their entire graphics subsystems to Metal and all of the other Apple centric API's for some piece of a 5% market share (most of that 5% of Steam Mac users are laptop users which don't have the horsepower anyway). Apple doesn't have that kind of pull in the Computer gaming ecosystem. Mobile devices sure, but Apple has no ability to get a foothold in desktop / laptop gaming.

And Steam is the computer equivalent of ADHD. They focus on something for a year or two, release a half assed version of it and if it doesn't pull Half Life, Portal, or Team Fortress numbers they kill it off. Similar to what Google does.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nt5672 Avatar
51 months ago
Yep, had to update recently and see no need to spend any more money on macOS or any other Apple stuff outside of the iPhone. Apple just does not get it anymore. At least not for me. Their services are terrible and can go away in a heartbeat, just like Apple's software.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...