CrossOver Allows x86 Windows Apps to Run on Apple M1 Macs - MacRumors
Skip to Content

CrossOver Allows x86 Windows Apps to Run on Apple M1 Macs

Codeweavers posted a blog post and video tonight showing off CrossOver running on an Apple M1 MacBook Air. This video shows Team Fortress 2 running on a new ‌M1‌ ‌MacBook Air‌:

CrossOver is software (based on Wine Project) that runs Microsoft Windows apps on the Mac by translating Windows APIs into their Mac equivalents. The Codeweavers team was able to run the current version of CrossOver on the new Apple ‌M1‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ under Rosetta 2 to achieve this feat.

That's incredible when you consider that we're on literally the cheapest Apple Silicon device you can buy - one that gets thermally throttled and is missing a GPU core.

I can't tell you how cool that is; there is so much emulation going on under the covers. Imagine - a 32-bit Windows Intel binary, running in a 32-to-64 bridge in Wine / CrossOver on top of macOS, on an ARM CPU that is emulating x86 - and it works! This is just so cool.

Codeweavers maintains a compatibility database so you can see what might work under CrossOver. They were also able to run Quicken, Among Us, and Witcher 3.

Popular Stories

apple silicon 1 feature

Apple Silicon is Taking an Unexpected Turn

Friday July 10, 2026 7:24 am PDT by
Ever since the Mac switched from Intel processors to Apple silicon starting in 2020, each generation of M-series chips has included higher-end Pro and Max variants. If a recent report proves to be accurate, though, that streak will be coming to an end. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will be releasing a regular M6 chip, but it has no plans to offer higher-end M6 Pro and M6 Max...
M6 Pro M6 Max Mockup

Here's Why Apple is Reportedly Skipping M6 Pro and M6 Max Chips

Sunday July 12, 2026 8:12 am PDT by
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will be releasing a regular M6 chip, but it has no plans to offer higher-end M6 Pro and M6 Max chips. In his Power On newsletter today, he said the reason for this break in tradition is AI. "Apple had been planning major neural-processing upgrades for the M7 family and ultimately decided those improvements were important enough to justify...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday July 30, 2026 6:12 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. Labor Day is September 7 this year. The last time the holiday fell on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the last time Labor Day was on September 7 in a normal year was in ...

Top Rated Comments

DJC631 Avatar
75 months ago
All that software-level emulation and it still is playable. These chips must be damn good.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BornAgainMac Avatar
75 months ago
I am happy this topic of running nonMac apps on ARM is coming up. I want to hear about VMware, Parallels, Docker next.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
75 months ago

All that software-level emulation and it still is playable. These chips must be damn good.
I picked up a Pro with 16gb of RAM. It absolutely flies.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CapeCodApple Avatar
75 months ago
RollerCoaster Tycoon here I come!
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
7thson Avatar
75 months ago
It was pretty skeptical about the transition to ARM based Macs. Once again, I find myself on the wrong side of a debate. What I’m seeing in these last few days is more encouragement to me updating to an M1 (or whatever comes next) Mac.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
75 months ago
Now run a 68k or PowerPC Mac emulator in Wine/CrossOver.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)