Apple Announces 'Game Mode' in macOS Sonoma for Better Mac Gaming Performance

Apple at WWDC today announced Game Mode, a new gaming feature for Macs that's exclusive to macOS Sonoma.

Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma gaming 230605
With Game Mode enabled in macOS 14, the Mac prioritizes CPU and GPU power for the running title, thereby improving gaming hardware performance across the board. For example, Game Mode makes gaming on Mac even more immersive by dramatically lowering audio latency with AirPods.

Apple says it has also doubled the Bluetooth sampling rate for paired Xbox and Playstation controllers, while a new Game Porting toolkit for developers makes it easier to port games from other platforms.

Game Mode works with any game, including all of the recent and upcoming Mac games, according to Apple.

The developer beta of macOS Sonoma is available through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com starting today, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. The release will be available as a free software update this fall.

Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday January 18, 2026 3:51 pm PST by
iOS 27 is still many months away, but there are already plenty of rumors about new features that will be included in the software update. The first beta of iOS 27 will be released during WWDC 2026 in June, and the update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

MacBook Pro Buyers Now Facing Up to a Two-Month Wait Ahead of New Models

Sunday January 18, 2026 6:50 pm PST by
MacBook Pro availability is tightening on Apple's online store, with select configurations facing up to a two-month delivery timeframe in the United States. A few 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro configurations with an M4 Pro chip are not facing any shipping delay, but estimated delivery dates for many configurations with an M4 Max chip range from February 6 to February 24 or even later. At...
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...

Top Rated Comments

tubular Avatar
34 months ago
Good to see them directly addressing games and -- critically -- the tools for porting to Metal, without which gaming is a dead issue.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ubername Avatar
34 months ago
This is Apple realising they’re going to struggle to get the VR/AR market unless they sort gaming out
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gengar Avatar
34 months ago
Hopefully I can play The Sims 4 more smoothly now.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SMH4KIDIOT Avatar
34 months ago
Good to see Apple take gaming a little more seriously. Game mode has been on Windows since Win10.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eidorian Avatar
34 months ago
I have given up on Mac gaming outside of streaming from my Windows desktop or using GeForce Now.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
34 months ago
Gamers are the most annoying “tech” people.

Apple just gave everyone even more tools to do what people have been asking for, make it easier to get modern games into the fold.

The response: “har har, now I can play 10 year old games”.

Truly insufferable lot.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)