For years, Macs have had one glaring weakness: gaming. But with the new M5 MacBook Pro, Apple might finally be getting close to fixing that. Or at least brute-forcing its way around it. Recent testing by Andrew Tsai shows the M5 Max MacBook Pro can run a wide range of AAA Windows games smoothly, even through emulation layers like CrossOver.
We’re talking heavy titles like Horizon Forbidden West and Black Myth: Wukong, and while not every game was perfect, the majority ran “superbly” despite not being native macOS apps. That’s kind of wild when you think about it, considering these are Windows games running on an ARM-based Mac… through translation.
How good is gaming on the M5 Max?
The M5 Max chip brings strong CPU and GPU gains, with performance improvements over the previous generation and a GPU that can rival mid-to-high-end laptop GPUs like an RTX 5070 in some scenarios. Add to that Apple’s unified memory architecture and improved GPU efficiency, and you get a system that can handle demanding workloads, even if they’re not optimized for it.
As per Andrew’s testing, the M5 Max MacBook Pro handled 20 Windows games via CrossOver with surprisingly solid results. Heavy AAA titles like Death Stranding 2, Horizon Forbidden West, and Black Myth: Wukong ran at around 50+ FPS at 1440p (medium settings), while Wolfenstein Youngblood hit 60 FPS at 4K, and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 even pushed 80+ FPS at 1440p/high. Of course, not every game was perfect, but the majority ran smoothly. That’s enough to show that the M5 Max can brute-force its way through demanding titles even via emulation.
Is this finally “Mac gaming”?
Not quite, but they’re getting there. Performance still depends on compatibility layers; some titles won’t run, and Windows laptops with dedicated GPUs remain ahead. But what used to be straight-up unplayable on Macs is now surprisingly smooth.
More importantly, this is bigger than gaming. If Apple can pull this off through emulation, it opens the door for better native support and a stronger macOS gaming ecosystem. And honestly, that’s the real win.