Apple intends to turn the Mac into the reference platform for video games

There is no longer any doubt. Apple is redoubling its efforts to make the Mac finally the platform on which we can enjoy the next generation of video games.. For decades, Apple computers haven’t been very good at gaming, but that started to change this year with a surprise launch Remake of Resident Evil 4 And Abode of the Evil Village. Not forgetting, of course, that in 2024 he will arrive Death.

However, this was only the first step in a strategy that will become even more ambitious over time. In an interview with Backseveral Apple employees commented on how Gaming will soon become a fundamental part of the Mac. Much of their ambition is based on confidence in Apple Silicon processors, whose graphics performance is growing significantly year after year.

“Apple Silicon changed everything. Now every Mac with Apple Silicon can run AAA games fantastically.. “Apple Silicon has transformed our legacy systems and made huge improvements in graphics with the M1, M2, and now M3,” said Gordon Keppel, the company’s marketing manager.

In turn, Leland Martin, Apple software marketing manager, said that Apple Silicon chips make it easier to develop games for Mac. That’s why Capcom and Kojima Productions have come on board, and they won’t be the only ones.

Why wasn’t this object there before? According to Martin, because offering models with integrated and discrete graphics has complicated the development process. This has caused companies and video game studios to distance themselves from the Mac, but all Apple Silicon chips have their own integrated graphics processor, regardless of the model.

Taking video games beyond the Mac

To the above, it should be added that Apple Silicon is a full-fledged hardware platform that goes beyond the Mac. a game developed on iOS can be easily adapted to Mac, and vice versa. This is exactly what happened with Remake of Resident Evil 4 And Abode of the Evil Village.

“If you look at the Mac lineup a few years ago, there was a mix of integrated and discrete GPUs. This can make game development more difficult. Because you’ll have to consider several different hardware options.

Today we’ve eliminated that entirely with Apple Silicon, creating a unified gaming platform for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Once a game is developed for one platform, porting it to the other two is a simple process. We’ve already seen this in games like Abode of the Evil Villagewhich was released first on Mac and then on iPhone and iPad.”

Leland Martin.

However… Are Apple’s efforts really generating interest from video game companies? Fortunately, yes. Martin himself says that the launch of the Game Porting Toolkit, a tool that allows you to emulate computer games on the Mac, has received very positive feedback from the developer community.

“We have seen interest from developers and publishers such as Kojima Productions (Death) and Annapurna Interactive Games (To roam), on how to use both parts of the Game Porting Toolkit. When you download this toolkit, it actually comes in two parts. There’s an emulation environment where you go into an existing Windows game and see how well it can run on a Mac. The second part is the game converter. shaders Metal, and is designed to help developers convert their code from shaders to Metal. They were delighted with how useful it was and how it saved them a lot of time during the development process.”

Leland Martin.

So everything points to the fact that Next year we’ll see more video game companies jump on the Mac train.. With Capcom, Kojima Productions and Annapurna involved, you can be sure that others will follow suit.