Great news for Mac gaming enthusiasts! The impressive Cyberpunk 2077 is now available on Apple Silicon Macs. However, be warned, the system requirements are quite stringent, especially the mandatory 16GB of RAM, which may exclude many users.
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A Highly Anticipated Release, Available Across Various Stores at Diverse Prices
The wait has been long, but CD Projekt RED’s futuristic role-playing game is now available for macOS starting today. This is the “Ultimate Edition,” which includes the base game and its excellent expansion, Phantom Liberty. Adding to the good news, the game is offered across several online stores at varying prices.
The Mac App Store lists it for $83. Yet, it’s available for significantly less on other platforms: $60 on Steam and the Epic Games Store, and even at a promotional launch price of $37.60 on GOG.com, the developer’s own store. You can also get the version without the DLC on GOG for just over $21. This is a viable option if you’re not planning on spending weeks playing. Note that currently, the game is exclusive to Mac and isn’t available on iPhone or iPad.
Beware, the Requirements are Demanding
This could be a sticking point for many. To dive into the streets of Night City, you’ll need a recent and highly capable machine. The game only runs on Macs with an Apple Silicon chip (M1 and newer), and requires at least 16GB of RAM.
This requirement effectively rules out all the M1 and M2 Macs sold with the base 8GB of RAM configuration, which makes up a large portion of the recent Mac ecosystem. See, this is why we’ve been saying for years that 8GB of RAM in a Mac is a mistake, and why you should always opt for 16GB. Here’s a clear example of “why”.
The other requirement involves storage. The version from the Mac App Store, which includes all voiceovers, needs a whopping 160GB of free space. This will also challenge those who own Macs with a “small” 256GB SSD (and I’m glad I got a MacBook Air M4 with 2TB SSD).
What Performance Can You Expect on Apple Silicon Macs?
The studio has detailed the expected performance. On the minimum configuration (M1 with 16GB), you can hope to play at 900p and 30 frames per second, similar to a PS4 experience.
To play comfortably at 1080p and 60 frames per second, you’ll need at least a Mac equipped with an M3 Pro chip and 18GB of RAM. The most powerful machines, like the M4 Max, can run the game at 1440p and 60 fps. The game is optimized for Apple’s Metal graphic API and supports MetalFX and FSR upscaling technologies to boost performance. Ray tracing is also available, but only on M3, M4, and probably upcoming M5 chips.
Can You Resume a Game Started on a Console? (It’s Not That Simple)
For those hoping to continue a game on their Mac that they started on an Xbox or PS5, the news is disappointing. Although Cyberpunk 2077 features a “cross-progression” function, many reports indicate that save sync does not work reliably from Xbox to Mac/PC. The Mac App Store version uses Apple’s cloud and does not communicate with Xbox’s cloud. As it stands, it’s not guaranteed that you can continue your adventure on Mac if you started on Microsoft’s console. It’s a real shame, but this remains to be confirmed.
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What’s the Verdict?
The arrival of a major and recent title like Cyberpunk 2077 on Mac is a very positive sign for the future of gaming on Apple’s platform. It shows that major studios are finally taking the Apple Silicon architecture and its graphic capabilities seriously.
However, this release also perfectly and painfully illustrates the “Apple problem.” By selling millions of “consumer” laptops with only 8GB of RAM in recent years, Apple has sabotaged the potential of its own platform. It’s frustrating: we finally have the games, but a large portion of the machines sold in recent years can’t run them properly.
The Mac could be an incredible gaming platform, but Apple itself is putting obstacles in its way with its policy of insufficient memory and storage (although, thankfully, 16GB of RAM is now standard, thank God it’s 2025…). So, does your Mac have what it takes to dive into Night City?
To discuss Mac gaming and share your setups, the best thing to do is to create an account on Mac4Ever!