Apple made a porting tool for developers, Let DirectX12 games run directly on the Mac

At this year’s WWDC23 developers conference, Apple’s critical software announcements were few, yet significant. During the introduction of macOS Sonoma, they invited renowned game developer Hideo Kojima to present the macOS debut of “Death Stranding: Director’s Cut”. They also unveiled a game mode for the new generation system, indicating Apple’s intent to resolve the longstanding conundrum of gaming on Mac computers. Furthermore, for game developers, Apple unveiled a secret weapon – allowing Windows games to run directly on macOS.

Apple introduced developers to the Game Porting Toolkit, a mechanism analogous to Valve’s Proton compatibility layer. It enables real-time translation of Windows platform games on macOS, bypassing the need for additional code rewriting and facilitating immediate game execution. However, compared to Proton, which operates under the same x86 architecture, Apple’s solution is more complex, necessitating not only a different operating system but also a conversion from x86 to arm architecture.

This Game Porting Toolkit, based on CrossOver code, was initially intended to run Windows programs on macOS. Now, with official support from Apple, it should offer improved operational efficiency. It is notable that Apple continually emphasizes how their Apple Silicon significantly surpasses Intel’s x86 architecture CPUs. Contrary to niche content creation software, running games actually better illustrates the gap in performance capabilities.

In addition to the conversion of DirectX12’s graphic API, the toolkit supports APIs, including keyboard, mouse, audio, and network connections. Consequently, games can operate without any code modifications. Apple likely hopes this tool will assist developers in porting existing Windows games to macOS more efficiently, enabling native execution and better leveraging Mac computers’ performance and feature advantages.

Based on demonstration videos released by several developers, the latest “Diablo IV” appears to run smoothly on the M1 Max chip MacBook Pro. Apple’s toolkit even provides an overlay interface – a hardware enthusiast’s delight – displaying game frame rate, CPU, and GPU operational status. The current game frame rate performance is average at best, and some bugs are present, necessitating further optimization. Nonetheless, it is safe to assert that the possibility of playing AAA titles on Mac computers is no longer completely out of the question.