Apple Releases Tool to Help Developers Port Windows Games to Mac

Apple at WWDC this week announced a new toolkit that makes it easier for game developers to port Windows games to the Mac. The toolkit provides an emulation environment that allows developers to run their existing, unmodified Windows game on the Mac and quickly evaluate how well the game could run on macOS before writing any code. A beta version of the toolkit is available for download on the Apple Developer website.

Mac Gaming
Apple is also offering developers a new Metal shader converter that simplifies the process of converting a Windows game's shaders and graphics code to run on Macs with Apple silicon. Apple says the toolkit and converter significantly reduce the total development time required to port games to the Mac, from months to just a few days.

Developers interested in porting Windows games to the Mac can watch Apple's series of "bring your game to Mac" videos for more details. Apple also has a page on its website outlining various gaming technologies and tools available for developers.

Apple appears to be increasing its commitment to high-end gaming on the Mac. For example, macOS Sonoma features a new Game Mode that temporarily prioritizes CPU and GPU performance for gaming. Game Mode also lowers AirPods audio latency, and reduces input latency with popular third-party game controllers by doubling the Bluetooth sampling rate, according to Apple. macOS Sonoma will be released later this year.

Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. 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 Front camera in...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
airpods color prototypes

Apple Tested AirPods in Bright Colors

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:06 am PST by
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases. The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white. They seem close to some...

Top Rated Comments

jlc1978 Avatar
34 months ago

Can't wait for Apple to put some L33T G4M3R LED lights on their MacBooks with flame decals. NOT!

Does anyone else feel enabling gaming on Mac cheapens the brand?
Not really; it adds a new reason for people to buy a Mac. While gamers who want maximum performance will still buy or build machines at the bleeding edge, making more games available on the Mac can only help, especially if they come out at the same time as the PC version, is a plus for casual gamers as well as help developers sell more games. That's a win for everyone.

It might also encourage Apple to improve things like graphic performance, will will help non-gamers as well; plus if improvements to Apple’s tool get rolled into Crossover it may mean better performance and compatibility with Window’s apps beyond games as well.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
whelmedjedi Avatar
34 months ago

Can users use it to run windows games on Mac? Or do you have to prove you developed the game?
Yes you can. Follow macgaming on reddit. They are currently playing almost every AAA windows games without any issues and great performance on their Macs using game porting toolkit. This toolkit provides preview for developers to see how would their game run on macOS before doing real porting. And these users using that benefit to play games. If developers choose to completely port their games to apple silicon, performance optimization should be even better than preview.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HVDynamo Avatar
34 months ago

Does anyone else feel enabling gaming on Mac cheapens the brand?
Uhh, no. That's the dumbest thing I've heard.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
34 months ago
Hoping this is all as good as it sounds and developers actually take advantage.

We need eGPU support now though. As good as M1 is, the graphics performance still isn’t comparable to a mid-level modern nVidia card for actually running games on most Macs. And now of course that even applies to the Mac Pro.

Edit: I assume these downvotes are for the Mac Pro comment (since no one has bothered to actually say why they disagree.) Yes, it and its identically powered for $3000 less twin the Mac Studio are probably better than a mid-range card, even though there’s no ray tracing. But the point remains.

And I don’t mean just the M1 specifically, but the vast majority of the computers they sell is going to continue to be the MacBook Air and cheapest MacBook Pro, which will have the lower end chips of whatever generation. Maybe people really don’t expect to game on those but then right there, why is Apple chasing AAA games when the vast majority of the computers they sell won’t run them well? Do they really only expect to sell games to owners of Mac Studios or better?

Even in the Death Stranding demo you could see rendering latency. I would like to see their recommended specs for it on the Mac.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
34 months ago
It’s a start! I wouldn’t mind this step up to start gaming on my ?



Attachment Image
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erikkfi Avatar
34 months ago
Anything to avoid supporting Vulkan I guess.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)