Cyberpunk 2077 will be the biggest test for Mac gaming yet

Apple and CD PROJEKT RED dropped a particularly potent surprise on gamers this week, with the surprise announcement that Cyberpunk 2077 will be coming to macOS in 2025. Once a much-hyped game with a disastrous launch that turned public opinion overnight, it has since become a darling among gamers again due to its excellent Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC that transformed it into a brand new experience.

And now macOS is getting the shiny new version of this title next year along with advanced features like path tracing, frame generation, and built-in Spatial Audio. And since it’s launching in 2025, the Cyberpunk 2077 macOS port will be optimized for the M4 chips and the best MacBooks and Macs using them such as the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro.

While this is an incredibly promising development for Mac owners and Apple gaming as a whole, how will Cyberpunk 2077’s port affect the tech giant’s gaming initiative?

History and current situation of Mac gaming

Mac gaming has almost always been in an infamously precarious spot, trapped in a vicious cycle of developers not developing for macOS due to lack of support and Apple not giving developers support and tools due to lack of games built in and ported to macOS. It’s important to note that there have been those like the EVE Online devs who’ve defended Apple, having nothing but good things to say about Apple’s support. However, that was considered a rare exception.

In recent years, Apple has ramped up the support for AAA ports, starting with the Mac version of Resident Evil Village that showcased the power of Mac devices as the game ate framerates and resolution for breakfast. Soon after that, Apple made a deal with famed gaming developer Hideo Kojima, bringing Death Stranding Director’s Cut and any other future Kojima Productions titles to the Mac.

Then there were the recent announcements from Apple regarding a host of brand-new and sometimes even exclusive games coming to macOS including Control, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Zenless Zone Zero, Diablo Immortal, Valheim, Frostpunk 2, and Palworld. All in all, it feels like Apple has taken the points I’ve made about Mac gaming to heart and has been applying them. This is what makes this Cyberpunk 2077 news all the more exciting.

Can Macs run Cyberpunk 2077?

The most important question to ask is: are Mac devices capable of running a title as large and as ambitious as Cyberpunk 2077? The answer should be a straightforward ‘yes!’ as this port is being specifically designed for Mac devices running the M4 silicon. And I would personally say that it is but with a few reservations.

In terms of the positives, one of the biggest advantages Mac devices like the Macbook Pro and Mac mini have is that they’ve finally moved away from the 8GB of memory for the base model and doubled it. For titles that have particularly demanding hardware requirements, a certain amount of memory is absolutely necessary, and this new crop of M4-equipped PCs fit the bill.

Speaking of M4 chips, the miraculous M-series that Apple develops is perfect for tackling the most intensive and best PC games on the market. What makes the M-series so excellent is how efficiently these chips run. They’re so efficient, in fact, that most Mac devices don’t even have fans built into the chassis because it’s simply not needed. But are these M4-powered PCs able to handle a game like Cyberpunk 2077 which is not only performance intensive but is not particularly well-optimized? That’s what remains to be seen.

How AAA titles could give Mac devices the edge against PS5 Pro

If Mac devices equipped with M4 chips are perfectly able to handle Cyberpunk 2077 — not only performance-wise but graphically — then they could pose a serious threat to another updated console also planned for a November 2024 release: Sony’s PS5 Pro.

Going by the entry-level configuration of the M4 Mac mini as an example, on paper it could match or possibly outperform the PS5 Pro thanks to its specs. Then there’s the pricing, as that same baseline model starts at $599 / £599 / AU$1,199, which is cheaper than the $699.99 / £699.99 / AU$1,199 pricing of the PS5 Pro and even less expensive once you account for additional hardware needing to be purchased for the latter.

We also have the form factor between the two machines. The M4 Mac mini is objectively smaller than the PS5 Pro. While one could make a very reasonable argument that the much bulkier size of the latter makes for better cooling than the former, the efficiency of the M-series bridges the cooling gap considerably. You could also argue that optimizing a game for the PS5 Pro would be easier than for the M4 Mac mini, though Apple has also been improving macOS’s developer toolkit, making it more accessible to port and develop games for the operating system.

Final thoughts

Apple seems to have struck gold with netting Cyberpunk 2077 for macOS, as this acquisition could cement Mac gaming as a permanent force to be reckoned with. While the recent launches of M4-powered devices should be able to handle such a performance-heavy game, the ability to so do well enough to attract gamers to these platforms will be the real challenge.

If Apple can rise to the occasion, then it could even have an opportunity to match and even surpass the PS5 Pro, which would nab even more support and a larger market for future Mac devices. The M4 Mac mini in particular would be the perfect PC to challenge Sony’s planned upgrade to its console, thanks to pricing, performance, and size.

Not to mention that developing for the Mac mini would be similar to a gaming console. Thanks to Apple keeping its machines consistent in terms of hardware, developers don’t need to account for unknown spec configurations, leaving more time for game optimization during the development process. In other words, underpowered hardware that’s well-optimized can match the performance of hardware that’s superior spec-wise.

Apple has all the right setup to score some easy points but will it make the shot or miss? That’s the real question, and there’s a lot riding on the answer.

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