Game Mode, one of the new features in macOS Sonoma, is said to enhance gaming performance on Apple Silicon Macs. However, Apple has made the Mac into a gaming platform by making it simple for developers to port Windows games to the Mac using a new game port tool.
It’s not particularly novel to play Windows games on a Mac. Platforms like Wine and Crossover translate Microsoft’s operating system APIs so that Mac computers can run Windows software. To make it even simpler for developers to port PC games to the Mac, Apple is integrating comparable solutions directly into the system with macOS Sonoma.
A new Game Porting Tool that the company has made available will make it easier for developers to run their games on Macs. It’s interesting to note that Wine, a well-known open-source platform for converting Windows software to Unix environments (like macOS and Linux), is the foundation of Apple’s Game Porting Tool.
But Apple isn’t just making these games compatible with macOS; it’s also doing more. According to the company, Game Porting Tool can also convert DirectX 12 to Metal 3. For those who are unaware, the Xbox and Windows platforms both support the DirectX API, which is akin to Apple’s Metal API in how it handles game audio and graphics rendering.
Without even one code change, some games can function properly. Apple gave The Medium as an illustration. The company does point out that the game runs nearly twice as fast on the same hardware in its native macOS version, which performs even better. Apple encourages developers to go beyond simply distributing translated versions of their Windows games because of this.
Developers can use new tools to convert DirectX graphics to Metal after testing a Windows game on macOS with Game Porting Tool. The game can now run natively with much better performance. Along with supporting game controllers, spatial audio, and HDR video, the macOS Sonoma SDK also aids developers in utilizing other built-in system features.
Developers can make use of Game Mode, a feature included in macOS Sonoma, in addition to the game’s porting tool. Apple claims that when the game mode is on, “the system prioritizes the gaming experience for featured gaming.”. “The game receives a higher GPU and CPU priority, which results in more stable and sustained frame rates. Bluetooth latency for AirPods is significantly decreased, and the Bluetooth sampling rate for PlayStation and Xbox controllers is doubled. All of this takes place automatically for all current and upcoming Mac games.