Mac gaming is back!

Apple silicon is a great gaming platform.

Author

Leander Kahney
December 04, 2023

Sponsored by

When it comes to gaming, the Mac has long been a bastard stepchild.

Most premium game titles are designed for Windows PCs, because that’s where the volume is. But even when Apple switched to Intel in the 2000s, it didn’t really juice the Mac as a gaming platform.

But with Apple silicon, even the lowest-end machines can be gaming powerhouses.

Take Stray, an adventure game where you play a cat exploring a futuristic cyberpunk city, which is expected to be released today on the Mac App Store.

The game has demanding graphics, but even a lowly Apple silicon machine can handle them with aplomb. See our hands-on review, which was conducted on an M2 Mac mini — no powerful graphics card required.

(Note: At the time of writing, the game had not yet been released.)

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • The Zoom videoconferencing app for Apple TV has finally launched, and it was worth the wait.

  • If you have to work with PDFs — and we all do — Readdle’s excellent PDF Expert app is worth the upgrade from the free tools Apple supplies in macOS. And it’s on sale for a limited time.

  • Some haters diss Apple’s Studio Display because it’s pretty pricey for a monitor that refreshes at only 60hz, but the owner of this setup says he doesn’t even notice.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

Meow! ‘Stray’ proves great gaming can happen on a Mac [Review] ★★★★★

In "Stray," you play as a cat wandering through a cyberpunk city. It's a gripping game in an exquisitely designed and immersive world that proves gaming on the Mac is on the rise once again.

$4 Steve Jobs check might sell for big bucks

A check signed by the Apple co-founder and made out to Radio Shack is on its way to selling for many thousands of dollars.

Zoom video-chat app launches on Apple TV [Awesome Apps]

A version of the popular videoconferencing app finally arrives on Apple’s set-top box. Turns out the long wait was actually Apple's fault.

A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team

Make PDF editing easier on Mac with PDF Expert, now just $70

PDF Expert will streamline your PDF editing and management on Mac. Get a lifetime subscription to PDF Expert now for just $69.99.

You can buy or rent ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ starting Tuesday

Martin Scorsese's latest epic hits Apple TV and other VOD services this week, but Apple TV+ subscribers can't stream it for free yet.

Apple TV+ axes critically acclaimed series ‘Central Park’ and ‘Swagger’

Two of the best shows on Apple TV+ have been canceled: animated musical comedy "Central Park" and basketball drama "Swagger."

A message from Vanta

Your SOC 2 Compliance Checklist from Vanta

Are you building a business? Achieving SOC 2 compliance can help you win bigger deals, enter new markets and deepen trust with your customers — but it can also cost you real time and money.

Vanta automates up to 90% of the work for SOC 2 (along with other in-demand frameworks), getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months. Save up to 400 hours and 85% of associated costs.

Download the free checklist to learn more about the SOC 2 compliance process and the road ahead. 

‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 4 references you might have missed [Apple TV+ recap]

Our recap of the latest "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" puts it in context with earlier episodes as well as the recent Godzilla movies.

What's next for Apple Card? [The CultCast]

This week on Cult of Mac's podcast: If Apple's partnership with Goldman Sachs is on the rocks, what does that mean for Apple Card?

Today in Apple history: Secret project ports Mac OS to PCs

On December 4, 1992, Apple engineers demonstrated a "proof of concept" of the Mac operating system running on an Intel computer.

Software engineer defends Apple's pricey Studio Display [Setups]

The user calls Apple's 5K monitor worth it for its "perfect resolution and scaling," and responds to advice on improving the setup.

Tweetz o’ the day

One more thing ...

❝

[On the “Think Different” ad campaign] We discussed whether it was correct before we ran it. It’s grammatical, if you think about what we’re trying to say. It’s not think the same, it’s think different. Think a little different, think a lot different, think different. ‘Think differently’ wouldn’t hit the meaning for me.

— Steve Jobs, 2008.

Today’s poll

Do you play games on a Mac?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Results from last Friday’s poll: Do you mistrust your iPhone camera now?

Best reader comments

Subscribe to The Weekender — Get the week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.

Reply

or to participate.