News

2020-12-02 Baldur's Gate III: Patch 3 released, adds support for Rosetta 2 via @MrMacRight

2020-12-02 Apple names Disco Elysium "Mac Game of the Year 2020" via @__tosh

2020-12-02 Mac version of Metro: Exodus in the works according to 4A Games via @Andytizer

Macs

Traditionally Macs are not considered very gaming friendly.

Compared to Windows PCs the Mac game library is smaller and PCs
typically come with broader support for GPUs many games get optimized for.

With the latest Apple Silicon Macs this is about to change.

Apple currently offers 3 different systems on their new Apple Silicon architecture.
The MacBook Air (M1), the MacBook Pro 13" (M1) as well as the Mac mini (M1).

While all 3 come with slightly different thermal design approaches
and various options like 8GB vs 16GB of RAM
and in the case of the MacBook Air options for 7 vs 8 GPU cores
first real-world tests indicate that all variants of the Apple Silicon Macs
are in the same ballpark when it comes to gaming.

That said, make sure to check the sheet for performance reports
about the games and specs you care about.

MacBook Air (M1)

MacBook Pro 13" (M1)

Mac mini (M1)

Performance

With only 8GB to 16GB of RAM and an integrated GPU as part of the Apple Silicon SoC
many people were suprised by how well the new ARM based Macs perform.

Here is one of the best direct comparison reviews so far illustrating the M1 performance:




Max Tech compared the Apple Silicon M1 Mac mini 16GB
to an Intel based Mac mini with i7 CPU, 64GB (!) and an eGPU w/ AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
using a fairly comprehensive range of real-world workloads.

Controllers

There are many different controllers marketed as compatible with iOS and Macs
but only a few are officially supported by Apple across
the whole Apple ecosystem for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV and Mac.

This can cause quite some frustration when you find out that the controllers you just bought
are only supported on some devices under some conditions.

If you are looking for high quality controllers with broad platform support
the controllers listed here are the ones we recommend.

Xbox One Wireless Controller with Bluetooth (Model 1708)

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

Xbox Adaptive Controller

PlayStation DualShock 4 Wireless Controller

Apple on controller support: HT210414

Games

Traditionally Macs are not considered very gaming friendly.

Compared to Windows PCs the Mac game library is smaller and PCs typically come with
broader support for GPUs many games get optimized for.

With the latest Apple Silicon Macs this is about to change.

When it comes to gaming first real-world benchmarks are showing
incredible results for all of the newly released M1 Apple Silicon Macs based on ARM.

With many games jumping in game performance from barely playable on Intel Macs
to buttery smooth 60 FPS on Apple Silicon.

The following is the most comprehensive list for gaming benchmarks
on Apple Silicon Macs. It is updated regularly and open for contribution.

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