In the ever-evolving landscape of operating systems, one OS stands unrivaled in its appeal to gamers: Windows 11. Despite Apple’s continuous strides in technology and design, particularly with its Metal graphics API and the fantastic hardware in its Apple Silicon chips, Windows 11 has firmly established itself as the platform for gaming enthusiasts.

While Metal offers impressive performance and efficiency on Apple devices, it pales in comparison to the widespread adoption and advanced capabilities of Microsoft’s DirectX. DirectX, integral to Windows 11, makes for superior graphics rendering, smoother gameplay, and a more immersive gaming experience that Apple simply can’t replicate.

Windows has hardware compatibility, while Apple's options are limited

You can't get a 4090 equivalent in a Mac

If you're a gamer, there are a few reasons why Windows is the best option, and part of it is actually ecosystem-related. While Macs are powerful, you simply can't get anything close to mirroring RTX 4090 performance (or any of the best GPUs, to be honest) in a Mac. Most gamers aren't using that kind of power, but the fact is that a gamer can in the future upgrade to that, whereas a Mac isn't looking capable of reaching that anytime soon.

On top of that, Apple's transition to Arm poses a problem to developers. While the company released its Game Porting Toolkit which demonstrates how games can run on a Mac at full speed, relying on Apple to handle two translations is a tall ask. Not only are you converting x86 code to Arm instructions for execution, but you're also converting DirectX API calls to Metal via D3DMetal. It works, but developers can't rely on it to handle everything perfectly. It's a similar problem that Valve has with the Steam Deck and Linux, except that at least those games are still built for x86 and are being played in x86.

Developers could build their games for Apple machines, but who would play them? Macs simply aren't made for games, the hardware scope is limited, and even anti-cheat software can't run on Mac effectively. Apple has options for hardened runtime and a developer can request if the operating system has been modified, the checks that a developer may want to run may not be possible through this. Plus, the additional time taken by developers to support a very small minority of gamers means that it's largely going to be fruitless anyway.

Gaming software is built for Windows

Not just peripheral controllers, but development tools, too

Developers typically prefer Linux and Mac, and I absolutely fall into that category myself. However, Windows offers a range of fantastic developer tools for developers who want to build their games for Windows. DirectX is a huge suite of APIs maintained by Microsoft, complete with Variable Rate Shading, Mesh Shaders, and other features that would be typically difficult to implement without Direct3D.

On top of that, DirectX also has DirectStorage, an API for improving game loading speeds by reading assets directly from storage to the GPU, skipping the CPU entirely. Plus, DirectX Raytracing provides a standardized API for raytracing, making it easy for developers to incorporate realistic lighting and shadow effects in their games. There's extensive documentation for these APIs as well, whereas Apple's Metal API is in its infancy. Even nowadays, Xbox consoles essentially run a variant of Windows with DirectX APIs that make graphics possible. Developers building for Xbox can treat the Xbox as another variant of a Windows machine (though with extra steps, of course), especially given that the architecture is now x86-based rather than PowerPC like past Xbox consoles.

Finally, software that controls peripherals is always built for Mac. While this would be a quick fix for a lot of companies, it's yet another issue within the industry that makes it so that Windows is simply superior for gaming. While many of these things could be fixed in the future, it doesn't make sense for basically anyone to make the move to support Mac gaming.

The best bet for gamers might be to see more games support MoltenVK. MoltenVK is a layered implementation of Vulkan 1.2 graphics, enabling cross-platform games and applications to run on Mac if they support Vulkan. It's essentially translating Vulkan to Metal, like D3DMetal converts DirectX to Metal, or Proton on the Steam Deck converts DirectX to Vulkan.

The bottom line is that Windows is great for gamers

That's unlikely to change soon

Despite Apple’s efforts to enhance macOS for gaming, Windows 11 remains the superior choice for gamers. The combination of advanced APIs, like DirectX, extensive hardware compatibility, and a great ecosystem of development tools provides Windows 11 with a significant lead. This allows for superior graphics rendering, smoother gameplay, and more immersive experiences. Windows also supports a broader range of gaming peripherals and high-performance hardware, such as the latest GPUs, which are crucial for gaming at the highest levels.

Additionally, the Windows platform offers extensive developer support and a vibrant gaming community. Game developers predominantly target Windows due to its larger user base and the comprehensive suite of tools available, ensuring a wider selection of games and better-optimized performance. Features like Variable Rate Shading, Mesh Shaders, and DirectStorage in DirectX are pivotal in pushing the boundaries of game design and performance.