Mac computers were not always known for their gaming capabilities, and in the past, choosing a Mac for gaming was not a smart move. The Macs that could play games effectively tended to be much more expensive than PCs with equivalent specs, and upgrading them to meet the requirements of modern games was generally not possible.

However, with the arrival of the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max in recent years, the story has changed. Even though M-series Macs do not have discrete graphics, they boast graphics capabilities that are much better than the integrated graphics in Intel Macs and even surpass the best of the discrete graphics cards that were previously included in Intel-powered Macs.

The new Apple chips are capable of handling AAA games, meaning that Macs are no longer a bad choice for gamers. However, the limited availability of games for Macs, especially those powered by the M-series chip, is still an issue.

Even with the M2 Pro, a top choice for Mac gaming, Macs cannot fully compete with purpose-built gaming PCs. The state of gaming on the Mac is heavily dependent on the availability of games for the Mac. However, there are still some great options for those who want a Mac to do everything a Mac can do and be good for gaming.

The gaming scene on the Mac has improved significantly since Macs started using the same Intel processors as Windows PCs in 2007. Strong sales of Macs in recent years have also encouraged developers to make more A-list games available on the Mac than ever before.

However, with the arrival of the M1 chip, developers now need to write their games for the new ARM-based chip as well as Intel, making the job much more complex. In addition, macOS Catalina stopped support for 32-bit code in 2019, making many 32-bit games incompatible with Macs. Apple has developed Rosetta 2, a dynamic binary translator that translates instructions from Intel to ARM, allowing many games to work on M-series Macs, although they do not all work perfectly.

Some game developers have made native versions of their games for the M-series Mac. Blizzard's World of Warcraft was M1 ready since the day the M1 Mac launched, and Gameloft's Asphalt 8 and Asphalt 9 both run natively on the M1. A total of 248 native games now exist, and many more run well through Rosetta, according to a list available online.

Overall, M-series Macs have significantly improved gaming capabilities, but the limited availability of games for Macs, especially M-series Macs, continues to be a challenge. If you're interested in purchasing a Mac for gaming, it's important to consider your options carefully and check the availability of games before making a decision.