How to play Windows games on an Apple Silicon Mac: every method

Updated 29 September 2026 · facts about other products checked on that day

Short version: first check whether the game has a Mac version. If it does not, your options are apps built on a compatibility layer, Windows in a virtual machine, and streaming from the cloud or your own PC. What works depends on the game: if it has an anti-cheat that installs a driver in the Windows kernel, what is left is streaming (from your own PC, or from the cloud if the publisher allows it) and consoles. Below, each method with its price and limits. Uncork is one of the options, and we say where it does not fit.

First check whether there is a Mac version

The most reliable way to play on a Mac is to play the Mac version. On a game's Steam page, the system requirements tab shows whether macOS is listed. Native Apple Silicon games run with no translation cost. Intel-only games run through Rosetta, and Apple says macOS 27 is the last version with full Rosetta: in macOS 28 it will remain only for certain older games (what this means).

PlayCover runs iPhone and iPad games, but those are not Windows games.

Compatibility-layer apps

Such an app translates a Windows program's calls into macOS calls and DirectX graphics into Metal. There is no virtual machine and no Windows inside, so there is usually less overhead than in a virtual machine, but we have not compared speed and on a given game the result can differ. Many apps set up a separate “bottle” and put the Windows version of a store (for example Steam) into it, while some build a separate wrapper for each game. Some games do not start.

There are free and paid ones. Free and open source: Highball, the Whisky fork, Heroic. Free Sikarugir (only some of its components are open source). Free Porting Kit, with a database of ready-made setups. GameHub for Mac in public beta (closed source, no price stated on its page). Paid: Bourbon 26 at $29.99 or more, once, and Uncork at 5 € a month or 50 € a year. Price, licence, stores and notarization of nine apps are collected on the Compare page, and what happened to Whisky and what to use instead is covered here.

Windows 11 in a virtual machine

A virtual machine runs real Windows 11 for ARM processors, and Windows games inside it. Games see ordinary Windows, but graphics are limited: Parallels Desktop says it supports DirectX up to version 11.1 and warns that some of the latest AAA games may not launch or run. It is paid: a subscription or a one-time purchase; with the Europe region selected (the price is injected by a script based on location) the Standard subscription showed 64.99 € a year on 29 September against a struck-through 99.99 €. VMware Fusion is free (you need a free Broadcom account), and according to Broadcom's documentation the Apple silicon version supports DirectX 11 from 13.5. A Windows licence is bought separately everywhere. UTM is free and open source but, by its own FAQ, has no 3D acceleration for Windows, so games there are “probably not”.

Streaming

The game runs on someone else's computer and your Mac shows the video. This is a way to play games with kernel-level anti-cheat without leaving the Mac, but only if the publisher allows the cloud: Valorant, for example, does not run in cloud services, and you are left with streaming from your own PC or a console.

GeForce NOW. Three plans: free, Performance and Ultimate. In the US, according to NVIDIA in August 2025, Performance cost $9.99 a month and Ultimate $19.99; on 29 September 2026 we could not read the price table on NVIDIA's site. Paid plans have a limit of 100 hours of playtime a month, and up to 15 unused hours roll over. You need to own the games, in a supported store. There is a Mac app with Apple Silicon support.
Moonlight and Sunshine. Free and open source. Sunshine goes on your PC with a graphics card, and Moonlight shows its screen on your Mac. You need your own powerful computer.
Xbox Cloud Gaming. Works in a browser (Safari, Chrome, Edge). Needs a Game Pass subscription; per the Game Pass page on 29 September 2026, cloud playtime is capped (5, 10 and 15 hours a month on Essential, Premium and Ultimate). Besides the catalogue, select games you own can be streamed.

Exotic options

Asahi Linux runs Linux on Macs with M1 and M2, and has a gaming toolkit that uses x86 emulation: it was announced as an alpha in October 2024, and we have not checked anything newer. On the base M3 the graphics driver is in development; on the M3 Pro and Max, and on the M4, work is not currently under way (status TBA in the project's tables), so for most current Macs this is not an option. Game Porting Toolkit from Apple is an environment for developers who evaluate and port their games, not an app for players.

Which method to pick

Situation	What fits	Limits
The game has a Mac version	the native version	only what the publisher released
A Windows game without kernel-level anti-cheat, and you want to play on the Mac itself	a compatibility-layer app	some games will not start, some frame rate is lost to translation
A game with kernel-level anti-cheat (Valorant, Fortnite, Apex Legends)	streaming from your own PC, the cloud (if the game is in the catalogue) or a console	needs internet; in the cloud the game must be in the catalogue, and paid GeForce NOW plans have a monthly hour limit
You need real Windows and games on DirectX 11 or older	Parallels or VMware Fusion	DirectX 12 is not advertised: some such games will not start or will run with limits; many anti-cheats refuse to run in a virtual machine; a Windows licence is bought separately
You want a heavy new game and your Mac is weak	streaming	depends on the network, the service's catalogue and its hour limit

Where Uncork fits

Uncork is a compatibility-layer app for Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later, macOS 14 or later). What sets it apart in input, judging by the pages of other apps we read: the mouse is read straight from the device, frames are evened out in single-player games, and a Logitech G923 wheel gets force feedback (verified in Assetto Corsa). It fits if you play single-player games or racing games, are ready to pay, and want the mouse read from the device and evened-out frames; we have not compared other apps' speed. Measurements are from a MacBook Pro 14″ with an M3 Pro and apply to it.

It does not fit if you need free, open source, or no macOS warning on first launch: Uncork is paid, closed and not notarized. It will not run games with kernel-level anti-cheat, its list of tested games is five, and the app's future depends on what Apple leaves in Rosetta. All of this is covered in more detail in the FAQ.