Why Don‘t More Games Run Natively on Mac? A Passionate Gamer‘s Perspective

As an avid Mac user and hardcore gamer, I often get asked by friends – "can I play [insert hottest new game] on my Mac"? While major strides have been made in recent years, especially with the rise of cloud gaming, the hard truth is most top-tier games still don‘t run natively on macOS.

Over 75% of PC Gamers Use Windows

Let‘s start with some context on the gaming market landscape. According to the latest Steam hardware survey, over 75% of their 100 million MAU gamers are on Windows. Compare that to just 3% for macOS – it paints a picture of where developers allocate resources.

Mac‘s minority share isn‘t surprising given its premium pricing and focus beyond gaming. But it does result in less incentive for publishers to support Apple‘s platform. Especially for blockbuster titles with high development costs.

Mac Hardware Prioritizes Efficiency Over Power

The deeper reason though lies in Apple‘s philosophical approach to hardware. Across both MacBooks and iMacs, efficiency and mobility take priority over blistering speeds and performance.

Don‘t get me wrong – MacBook Pros and iMac Pros pack serious punch. But benchmarks consistently show Macs lagging behind Windows flagships in areas like graphics power. Let‘s examine why:

Lack of Discrete GPUs

Dedicated graphics cards are pivotal for smooth AAA gaming, yet rare in Macs outside the costly iMac Pro. The entry level 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro only comes with integrated graphics, leaving gaming performance trailing behind.

Thermal Conditions Favor Battery Over Sustained Loads

All-day portable use deeply influences Apple‘s thermal designs. Throttling down peak speeds to avoid overheating prioritizes mobility over maxing out capacity for long intensities like gaming marathons.

More Cores Doesn‘t Equate Gaming Power

Apple touts its new M2 processor beats out most Windows laptops in benchmarks. No doubt – but for content creation apps, not triple-A gaming fame rates. As one Apple engineer put it:

"Our high power cores are designed for bursts, not long sustains. Different use case than AAA gaming workload profiles."

So in optimizing their silicon architecture for efficiency and mobility, gaming has taken a backseat. And the difference playing intensive titles shows substantially lower frame rates on Mac compared to say an equivalent Razer Blade.

Major Titles Often Exclude macOS Support

Given these marketplace and hardware considerations, it‘s no surprise hot new releases frequently ignore Apple users altogether.

Let‘s take a look at some major recent games missing native macOS compatibility:

As a Mac gamer, it stings seeing exciting upcoming games not bother building in cross-platform support. Especially with Apple silicon Macs now surpassing Windows counterparts in some areas like video editing.

But economics prevails – developers follow the money. And with 6X as many Steam gamers on Windows, I can‘t blame studios chasing scale over nurturing a niche Apple subset.

The good news is…

Cloud Gaming and Other Workarounds ExpandPossibilities

While native AAA support remains spotty, workarounds do exist for accessing Windows-only games on Mac:

Cloud Gaming

Streaming platforms like GeForce NOW have been a godsend. I can now play intensive titles like God of War seamlessly on my MacBook without any porting or compatibility layers.

Cloud gaming saw a 57% spike in macOS users last year, showing the demand for access beyond what Mac silicon can currently handle.

Bootcamp

Dual booting into a Windows partition opens up many options. But often requires upgrading internal components for satisfactory frame rates.

Parallels Desktop

Virtual machine performance is hit or miss. Casual games may work well but often lack necessary graphics power for recent titles.

So while cloud streaming earned my subscription dollars thanks to its simplicity, I still pine for the day when hits like GTA 6 release natively on MacOS.

When Will Apple Prioritize Mac Gaming?

With the rapid pace of Apple silicon advancement, is there hope gaming will become more of a first class focus? Industry analysts have mixed predictions.

Mobile chip guru Anshel Sag believes Apple could rival Nvidia in just 3 years:

“Apple’s roadmap for Mac CPUs and GPUs likely meets or exceeds the performance of the best mobile Nvidia GPUs by 2025”.

But longtime Apple commentator Jason Snell is more skeptical:

“I have seen little evidence gaming is a first order consideration for Apple. They care about creative workflows – areas they are heavily invested and competitive”.

My hope is Mac gaming improves substantially – especially as platforms like Unity and Unreal Engine now offer native Apple silicon support. But as Snell noted, it would require a strategy shift from Apple I just haven‘t seen yet.

For now, us Mac gamers must stick to a healthy dose of patience and workarounds when hot new titles hit. Unless you have pockets deep enough for both a Mac and premium gaming rig! But with Apple silicon advancements, here‘s crossing my fingers our gaming prospects keep getting brighter in Mac land.