Apple unveils game porting toolkit to bring Windows games to macOS

Apple’s presentation at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) included the unveiling of a Game Porting Toolkit, which represents a big step forward for the company in its mission to improve gaming on macOS. This toolkit, which is evocative of Valve’s Proton and the Steam Deck, makes use of the source code from CrossOver in order to make it possible to translate and run the most recent DirectX 12 Windows games on macOS.

Mac gaming has been made fun of for a long time by members of the PC gaming community, with very few exceptions, including versions of games like No Man’s Sky and Resident Evil Village that are made specifically for macOS users. However, Apple’s newly released Game Porting Toolkit wants to alter that by enabling creators to run unmodified versions of Windows games on Macs without any problems. This will provide insights on both the games’ performance and compatibility before the complete porting process is carried out.

Emulation is the method that Apple’s utilities use to make Windows games playable on macOS. This tool is powered by the CrossOver solution, which is based on technology developed by Wine. It does this by converting calls made to the Windows API into those made to Apple’s Metal API, which removes the need for major changes or porting. Important application programming interfaces (APIs) relating to graphics, input, audio, networking, and file systems have been adapted for use in macOS.

Users of Mac computers may still experiment with the Game Porting Toolkit, despite Apple’s insistence that the primary emphasis at the moment is on the review of games rather than on full-fledged porting. Due to the fact that the majority of games have not yet been optimised for use in this environment, it is essential to keep in mind that certain performance difficulties and glitches may appear. Despite this, early reports show that the results will be positive, as users have successfully run titles such as Cyberpunk 2077, Diablo IV, and Hogwarts Legacy on M1 and M2 MacBooks.

The translation layer that Apple has developed has a lot of untapped potential, especially when one considers the high-performance GPU cores that are included in its M1 and M2 CPUs. The company’s dedication to making game porting easier is made clear by the Metal Shader Converter, which can instantly convert shaders created by previous GPUs to Metal and further streamline the process.

Because of the intricate difficulty of recompiling code, translating shaders, and adding graphics subsystems, audio, and input, developers have historically had a difficult time porting Windows games to macOS. This has been the case for a long time. By combining the Game Porting Toolkit from Apple with the Metal Shader Converter, the company hopes to remove these complications and drastically minimise the amount of time and work necessary for the process of porting games.

With the release of macOS Sonoma, Apple is expanding its newfound attention to gaming beyond the toolset by introducing a dedicated game mode. In addition, famed video game designer Hideo Kojima made an appearance at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote to reveal that the director’s cut of Death Stranding would be ported to macOS.

The ability to play Windows games in a smooth manner on macOS is still more of a pipe dream; however, recent improvements in translation technology made by Apple hint at the possibility of this becoming a reality in the near future. Apple may make it possible for users of its macOS operating system to easily play Windows games by continuously improving its translation layer. This would be similar to the experience that is provided by the Steam Deck.

This article is based on information from The Verge.