Whenever I’ve discussed how far Mac Gaming has come recently, friends inevitably ask me the same question: Can I play Cyberpunk 2077 on a Mac?
The answer had been a defeated “no” for several years, but I’ll be able to enthusiastically respond with a “yes” soon.
Announced in late October 2024, CD Projekt Red’s mega-hit Cyberpunk 2077 is coming to Macs sometime in 2025. The timing seems right given how Apple has just released the MacBook Air M4 — not to mention rumors of MacBook Pro M5 laptops potentially arriving later this year.
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the best PC games, so it’s great that it’ll soon find a new home on Apple computers.
I briefly got to check out Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition running on a new M3 Ultra-powered Mac Studio and an Apple Studio Display.
Though I’ll need some extensive hands-on time to see how Cyberpunk 2077 fares on different Macs, I’m hopeful it will take full advantage of Apple silicon and run as well or better than on the best gaming PCs.
Based on what I saw, it should be a winner.
What is Cyberpunk 2077?
Cyberpunk 2077 was released in late 2020 on PC and home consoles. The game had a rocky start due to numerous bugs and glitches—all of which were magnified on last-gen consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One.
After several updates over the next three years, along with the popular Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Netflix anime series, the game experienced a renaissance and is now considered a current-day classic by some. As I wrote in my Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty review, the game had completed its redemption arc.
You can read our Cyberpunk 2077 reviews to find out more, but in short, Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, first-person-perspective game set in the futuristic Night City.
With a plot that could’ve come from the mind of William Gibson, you’ll explore a seedy cyberpunk world as you try to find a cure for a fatal cyber-virus with which you've been infected. If you’re a fan of Robocop, Akira, Neuromancer or The Matrix, you’ll feel at home.
Now, Mac users can dive into this game in the form of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. This version offers the base game and the aforementioned Phantom Liberty expansion.
A single playthrough could conceivably last about 80 hours, though that playtime can go up to hundreds of hours if you try different character builds across various playthroughs.
Cyberpunk 2077 on Mac
I didn’t go hands-on with Cyberpunk 2077 on Mac, but the short demo I saw was enough to give me a taste of what to expect.
Everything from a grimy back-alley market to the futuristic neon-drenched streets looked phenomenal. Visually, the game is on par with anything a powerful gaming rig can deliver.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition leverages the power of Apple silicon and Metal graphical effects. It packs features like path tracing, frame generation, and built-in Spatial Audio. Apple says these features will make for an immersive gaming experience.
In the demo, an Apple representative walked the player-character through several locales in Night City. Everything from a grimy back-alley market to the futuristic neon-drenched streets looked phenomenal.
The ray-traced reflections on glass buildings were particularly impressive. Visually, the game looks on par with anything a powerful gaming rig can deliver.
Though there wasn’t a frame counter displaying the exact frames per second the game ran at, everything looked buttery smooth to my eyes.
Apple says Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is coming to Macs “powered by the M4 family of chips.” This makes me wonder how it will run on devices with older chips like Apple M3 and Apple M2.
I’m also curious to see how the game will run on machines like the MacBook Pro 14-inch and new MacBook Air M4 that pack a base M4 chip instead of the mega-beefy Apple M3 Ultra.
Despite my questions, I have no reason to believe Cyberpunk 2077 won’t run well across most of Apple’s M-series Macs. Unlike the downtrodden denizens of Night City, I’m choosing to be optimistic.
Outlook
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of my favorite games and one I always fire up when testing gaming rigs. I’m eager to use it for gaming performance tests on Macs and finally have my friends stop teasing me about its non-availability on Apple's computers.
Apple says Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will arrive “soon” on Macs and be available on Mac App Store, GOG.com, Steam and Epic Game Stores. Stay tuned for my full report on the game when it launches.
More from Tom's Guide
- 5 reasons why it’s finally time to take Mac gaming seriously
- I just played Cyberpunk 2077 on my iPad Pro
- I’ve waited years for Apple to give a damn about Mac gaming
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