Ever since the launch of the Apple M1 chip, the company has been relentlessly pushing Mac gaming after it nearly died during the Intel Mac era. It’s not always pushing Mac gaming in a direction I agree with, but it is pushing.
Now, a game that perhaps represents the pinnacle of video game technology has finally made its debut on Mac, and the implications go far beyond just a single title being available on a specific brand of computer.
After Many Delays, Cyberpunk 2077 Is on Mac
When the announcement for the Mac version of Cyberpunk 2077 was made, the release window was “early” 2025. Well, the first half of the year came and went, and even the Nintendo Switch 2 got the game before the Mac.
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If it’s out by the time you read this, everybody wins.
I really got worried there for a while, but seemingly out of the blue we got a firm date, and indeed the game has launched with a native macOS version, which you can go buy right now. If you already own the game for PC, then you also have access to the macOS version. No additional money down!
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Engine
- REDengine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
- ps, xbox, pc
If you don’t know, Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person action RPG set in the Cyberpunk tabletop gaming universe. The game had a very rough and notorious launch, with the console versions of the game being delisted at the time. However, the game has been constantly updated and overhauled, and today, at version 2.3, it’s in incredible shape. Not only that, but the game has been kept at the cutting-edge of graphics technology, often used to showcase the very latest in ray-tracing, upscaling, and other new graphics methods. So it’s very much a current-generation game when it comes to the technology side of things.
As an actual game, I personally love it and have more than 300 hours clocked across several playthroughs and platforms.
If you’re going to buy Cyberpunk 2077 on macOS, I strongly recommend skipping the Mac App Store version. Instead, buy the game from GOG.com or Steam. This way, you’ll get the Mac and PC versions of the game, and besides your other games are probably on Steam or GOG anyway.
A Lot of Apple Silicon Macs Are Not Invited
The macOS version of Cyberpunk will run on any Apple Silicon system, even the base model M1 with the slightly cut-down GPU. That’s not too surprising, because even the M1 trades blows with a PlayStation 4, and Cyberpunk runs on that, albeit poorly. What is surprising is that the game will not work on any Mac with less than 16GB of RAM.
Given that the PS4 only had 8GB of RAM, that’s a little surprising to me. Sure, the PS4 has a much lighter OS than a Mac, but with the extremely fast storage an other new graphics technologies the PS4 doesn’t have (like the Metal upscaler) I thought they could make it work.
It’s not the biggest deal going forward, since the base level of RAM on current Macs is 16GB and that will only increase going forward, but there are a ton of 8GB MacBooks and Macs out there which are otherwise just fine performance-wise.
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As for the actual performance, here’s what my M4 Pro MacBook with 24GB of RAM pulls off using the “For this Mac” preset.
It’s clearly carefully tuned to hit that 60fps target, and the game does indeed run smooth as butter. In fact, I was able to push the preset to higher quality levels and resolutions and still get that 60fps average, or uncap the frame rate to take advantage of my laptop’s 120Hz display.
It seems that CD Projekt RED took the time to fine-tune the game for the (relatively) small number of Mac configurations that are out there, giving us something more like performance tuning on a console than a PC. This is amazing, given that some Mac ports of PC games run terribly, despite the raw horsepower being available.
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This Means More for Mac Gaming Than You Think
Those of us who play video games on Mac and keep track of the state of Mac gaming aren’t surprised that Cyberpunk runs well on the hardware. However, I think this game running natively on macOS is more than just one game running on a new platform. A game like Cyberpunk is one that the greater gaming audience equates with “real” gaming. This is something they play on high-end PCs and current-generation consoles.
There are endless jokes under posts about the macOS version of this game by people who have no experience with current Mac hardware or software, and somehow fundamentally believe that these computers can never run “real” video games. Cyberpunk will certainly help consumers and even developers take macOS more seriously as a platform, and that’s crucial to getting the snowball rolling down the hill.
This is extra important in my view, because modern Mac hardware is superior for gaming purposes in many ways, but I guess you’d want me to elaborate on that statement.
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My New Favorite Way to Play Is Mac—Here’s Why
I have several options for playing Cyberpunk 2077:
- A Lenovo Legion GO
- A Nintendo Switch 2
- A Core i9 RTX 4060 laptop.
- A PlayStation 5
And, now, my MacBook Pro. Now, I’ve already established that when a Mac and Windows version of a game exists, my MacBook tends to run it pretty much as well as my big Windows laptop does. It’s not quite as powerful, but it’s close enough so that the differences aren’t that meaningful during actual gameplay. Baldur’s Gate 3, for example, is a game that I exclusively play on my MacBook Pro for much the same reasons. I’ll now prefer to play it on my MacBook instead of my other options most of the time.
Nintendo Switch 2
- 4K Capability
- Yes, docked
- 4K Capabilities
- HDR
- What’s Included
- Dock, Charger, HDMI cable, Joy-Con adapter
- Brand
- Nintendo
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the company’s latest hybrid home console, with more powerful graphics and processing, a larger 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR, and more online features.
- Screen
- 7.9-inch LCD touchscreen
- Game support
- Switch 1 and Switch 2 titles
While my Windows laptop turns into a mini hurricane during the game, my MacBook remains whisper-quiet during gameplay. In fact, it’s quieter than even my Lenovo Legion Go while playing Cyberpunk. This means I can happily sit on the couch next to my wife and play without disturbing her.
Even better, I can play the game on battery power for longer than the 30 minutes my Windows laptop can manage with its performance throttled down to nothing, and basically as long as my Switch 2 can run the game, except at much higher settings.
The final reason is that my MacBook has a superb mini-LED screen which looks better than anything else I can play on right now, barring perhaps the OLED hooked up to our PS5, and the spatial audio through my AirPods Max sounds pretty great too.
Overall, the experience just feels magical, and I think my next 100 hours in the gritty world of Cyberpunk will be split between macOS and Switch 2, thanks to the wonders of cross-progression. Wish me luck chooms, and welcome to the world of modern gaming street-cred Apple.
