Apple produces powerful computers and laptops that are able to handle heavy workloads. And while the company’s hardware is widely known for its prowess in video and audio editing, that’s not the case for high-end games. When people think about buying the best gaming PCs or the best gaming laptops, Apple products don’t factor in their decision.
But things could soon change thanks to the Apple M2 chip, macOS Ventura, and the Metal 3 API. With these, Apple hopes to make games look better and take advantage of the graphical capabilities of Apple silicon. Given how high-profile titles like Resident Evil Village and No Man’s Sky can be expected for Mac later this year, it looks like Apple will finally offer cutting edge gaming experiences.
I recently attended an Apple gaming event to learn more about the company’s gaming aspirations. I’m a gamer for life and have never given Apple computers a second look because they weren’t great at gaming. The 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch Macbook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets did little to change my mind. They are killer laptops, but a waste of gamers. And while Apple Arcade is useful for mobile gaming, I’m not particularly interested in these types of titles on a big screen.
For that reason, I was curious to see what the company has in its proverbial cover and whether it can deliver the kind of high-end gaming experiences I’ve been looking for. Although Apple still has some challenges to overcome, this event has given me renewed hope for its gaming prospects. The company appears to be on the right track, based on what I’ve seen. It gave me hope for what lies ahead.
It’s important to briefly explain Metal 3 and why it’s important to the future of Apple gaming.
Metal 3 enables high-performance PC-level gaming on macOS Ventura by introducing tools like MetalFX Upscaling to render graphics without significant performance impact. This upgrade technology can be seen as Apple’s answer to Nvidia DLSS, which uses artificial intelligence to deliver graphically intense games without melting your GPU.
Apple has a page Dedicated to all metal objects (Opens in a new tab). There is, too Lots of videos (Opens in a new tab) For developers who want to use Metal 3 to create games. Suffice it to say, Apple hopes the updated API and tools will help attract more developers – specifically “AAA” developers – to create games for Mac.
PC-like gaming experiences on MacBooks
During the presentation, I saw No Man’s Sky running on a 16-inch MacBook Pro that has an M1 Max chip and a combined 16GB of memory. I confirm that I saw The game since it was a non-interference demonstration. Although I wasn’t able to test the title myself, I still liked it.
It comes as no surprise that No Man’s Sky looks absolutely stunning on the MacBook Pro’s compact 16-inch display. The demonstration was organized in an icy valley surrounded by enormous snow-capped mountains. The varying shades of white and blue seemed pure and vibrant. Weapon fire and explosions also appeared on the screen. Everything looked amazing.
Performance was somewhat choppy, with frame rates fluctuating whenever the action started. However, since No Man’s Sky is still in the works, I can forgive the performance hiccups. But overall, the game worked hard enough to build a beta.
No Man’s Sky isn’t a very graphically demanding title, but it was still surreal in seeing a major game designed for PC and consoles running on the MacBook Pro. And not just jogging, but jogging well. Apple didn’t tell me more than it previously revealed during WWDC 2022, but seeing No Man’s Sky on a Mac was kind of surprising.
I finally have hope for Mac games
It looks like Apple is taking significant steps towards getting PC-level gaming experiences on Macs. Metal 3 looks like a solid platform for developers, and it’s bundled with Apple silicon and macOS 13, and the company is likely to offer eligible gaming experiences in the near future.
This point is further underlined by the fact that Capcom – one of the largest game developers and publishers on Earth – is bringing Resident Evil Village to Macs. If the company finds success on Macs, I see no reason why it shouldn’t run other games running on its RE drive. Can we see titles like Devil May Cry 5, Street Fighter 6 or Dragon’s Dogma 2 on Macs? unimaginable.
If No Man’s Sky and Resident Evil Village succeed on Macs, it could incentivize other big developers to port their titles. Lack of support from major publishers is one of the main reasons why Apple’s games are not equal to PC. But if more publishers and developers join in, Macs could one day become viable gaming machines. Of course, that could mean Apple playing nice with companies like Epic Games… but that’s another story entirely.
We should also bear in mind that Apple is rumored to be developing Apple VR/AR headsets and controllers. If true, it would be further evidence that the company is taking gaming more seriously than it used to be.
We’ll see how it goes when No Man’s Sky and Resident Evil Village release for Mac later this year. If these games perform as well or better on Apple computers as they do on gaming PCs and laptops, we could see a new front in the console wars. This prospect leaves me eager to see what the future holds.
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