Can Your MacBook Run Cyberpunk 2077? Here is What You Want To Know

“Cyberpunk 2077,” which is the inspiration for one of Netflix’s best-reviewed TV shows, has been formally launched on Apple {hardware}. You heard that proper — the sport is out there on Apple’s personal Mac App Store, along with standard PC gaming storefronts akin to Steam, GOG.com, and the Epic Video games Retailer. “Cyberpunk 2077: Final Version” is the model you will discover there, and it comes with the well-received Phantom Liberty DLC.

Although 5 years late to the occasion, the discharge of CD Projekt Crimson’s dystopian sci-fi shooter on Mac is monumental, legitimizing Apple’s {hardware} within the eyes of PC avid gamers. You will not see avid gamers flocking to Apple shops any time quickly for Macs, but it surely’s a step in the best path.

With this information, present Mac customers could also be questioning whether or not their Mac, Mac mini, or MacBook can run the sport, which has turn out to be a go-to for benchmarking {hardware} because of the demanding nature of the graphics. If in case you have a 2020 Mac or newer, we have now excellent news for you.

“Cyberpunk 2077” can solely be performed on Apple’s M collection chips. Older Macs with Intel processors are sadly out of the working. The excellent news is that each one M collection chips are supported, even the very first M1 chip, which was launched across the similar time as “Cyberpunk 2077” in 2020. The M1 MacBook Air is now the laptop almost everyone should buy, so you probably have one mendacity round accumulating mud on a shelf, bully for you. 

To be extra particular, “Cyberpunk 2077” runs on M1 Mac programs with not less than 16GB of unified reminiscence. Any such RAM is shared between the CPU and the GPU for increased effectivity. That mentioned, it’s attainable to run the sport on only 8 GB of unified memory, however it would most likely result in efficiency points. For one of the best outcomes, persist with the beneficial system necessities. Along with the 16GB of unified reminiscence, you will additionally want 92GB of space for storing and macOS 15.5 or later.

The minimal necessities will not get you one of the best efficiency however will end in playable, largely secure gameplay locked at 30 frames per second (FPS). With a mixture of low and medium settings, an M1 Mac can run “Cyberpunk 2077” at a body price of 30 FPS. That is achieved via Apple’s MetalFX DRS upscaling characteristic, which relies on the open-source FidelityFX Tremendous Decision (FSR) expertise from AMD. Whereas this implies it’s important to play at a decision of 900p on M1 Macs for one of the best efficiency, the sport is not less than playable, and it does not look unhealthy, both.

Newer Macs — like those within the leaked Apple roadmap with extra superior M-series chips and extra reminiscence — will carry out higher. On higher-end M-series chips, just like the M3 Extremely and M4 Max, you may count on to play at 1440p with a body price of 60 FPS, which is taken into account the usual for contemporary PC gaming. In accordance with Digital Foundry’s benchmark of “Cyberpunk 2077” on Apple Silicon, the M4 Max is corresponding to Nvidia’s RTX 4060 GPU, however Nvidia nonetheless has the higher hand relating to ray tracing. Ray tracing is feasible on Macs, although it does not look pretty much as good based mostly on Digital Foundry’s findings. Ray tracing efficiency on Macs might enhance when Apple begins supporting denoising whereas upscaling later this 12 months with the discharge of macOS 26.

PC avid gamers might balk on the thought of enjoying “Cyberpunk 2077” on a Mac, however what Apple has managed to do is however admirable. For many who do not need to take care of troubleshooting, driver updates, and random crashes, what Apple presents is an interesting various — one that’s hassle-free and feels extra like enjoying in your Swap 2.