I’ve reported on Apple’s gaming efforts for the past few years and have been impressed by the company’s slow but steady growth in this field. While many big-name “blockbuster” titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Elden Ring aren’t available on Apple devices, companies like Capcom and Ubisoft (among others) have dropped some of their latest games on the best MacBooks, best iPhones and best iPads. It’s something I never would have thought possible less than five years ago.
During a recent event, Apple showed me what it’s been up to in the gaming space — most of which you might have already seen during the latest WWDC event. I tried out some upcoming games and learned about new gaming-specific features. Though none of this will put Apple gaming on par with PC gaming in the immediate future, it’s clear that the Cupertino-based tech giant is still taking gaming quite seriously. As a lifelong gamer, I’m intrigued by the current state of Apple gaming and where it can potentially end up before the decade’s end.
I’m a PC gamer and even I’m impressed by Apple’s latest gaming efforts. Here’s why.
New games at launch
Having games Resident Evil Village, No Man’s Sky and Death Stranding available on Apple’s devices isn’t anything to shrug at. However, all of these landed years after initially launching on PC and consoles. This is now changing, as demonstrated by Lies of P simultaneously launching on macOS, PC and consoles. And it doesn’t seem to stop there as Assassin’s Creed: Shadows launches on November 15 for PC, consoles and Mac.
There are still a slew of older games that will hopefully find their way over to Apple’s devices. If we get those along with brand-new releases day and date with consoles and PCs, it will just only help Apple’s gaming front.
Cross-save/cross-platform
One of the best things about playing the best Steam games is that you can start playing a game on your desktop and continue on a handheld device like the Steam Deck OLED. Cross-platform play and cross-saving seem like no-brainers for Apple’s machines, especially since they share the same hardware and software technologies. Thankfully, this is an aspect Apple and game developers aren’t overlooking.
Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village allow you to (for example) start playing on a MacBook Pro and then continue playing on an iPad with an M-series chip or iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Max. Capcom’s games get saved on iCloud, but Ubisoft’s games will get saved on that company’s Ubisoft Connect service. Cross-saving is a feature I expect to see in more titles that are available across Apple’s machines.
Quality of life updates
Apple is also bringing or updating certain features to enhance one’s gaming experience.
Game Mode (which is currently available on Macs), is coming to iPhone and iPad this fall with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 (respectively). The feature will do a better job of minimizing background activity and deliver smoother frame rates on macOS Sequoia.
Personalized Spatial Audio, which is an iPhone and Apple Vision Pro feature, is coming to games when using a pair of AirPods Pro 2. Improvements include reduced audio latency and higher-quality game audio when chatting with friends.
An upcoming update on the Mac App Store will reduce the file size of large games. You’ll also be able to choose an alternate disk to install games on. Lastly, you’ll see the time and size remaining when a game or app installs, along with new controls to pause and resume downloads.
Outlook
There's still a long way to go before Apple gaming matches the ubiquity of console or PC gaming. However, every step brings the company closer to hopefully giving the established platforms some competition. With the power of iPhones, iPads and Macs, there's no reason Apple fans shouldn't have awesome gaming experiences.
