macOS Game Mode Overview: What It Is And How to Use It

A variety of new features and improvements are added in macOS Sonoma 14 to improve the Mac experience. Game Mode, which is designed to improve gaming performance on Mac computers, is one of the exciting new additions. In this post, we'll explore Game Mode in detail, including its benefits, compatibility issues, and how to use it.

What is Game Mode in macOS Sonoma

Before the advent of macOS Sonoma, there was no Game Mode on the Mac platform. The latest macOS version released on WWDC 2023 introduced the new feature Game Mode, aiming to optimize the gaming experience on Mac. Game Mode is one of the Sonoma features that are not available on Intel Macs.

By providing an even more optimal gaming experience, Game Mode will allow players to save valuable milliseconds. The Apple Silicon will prioritize CPU and GPU performance when Game Mode is on to deliver a constant and fluid frame rate. 

What's more, lowered audio latency and doubled Bluetooth sample rates will improve the responsiveness of controller input lag, including that from Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Any game, both current and forthcoming, will function with Game Mode.

How to turn on/off Game Mode on macOS Sonoma

Up to now, Apple has only released the macOS Sonoma Beta for developers and the final public version will come in the fall. If you want to test out the Game Mode on Mac now, you need to install macOS Sonoma Beta on Mac. Or after the final version is unveiled, you can update to macOS Sonoma to enjoy this new feature.

There are no settings to configure the Game Mode given that it is automatically enabled when you fire up a game. You can't even find related preferences in the System Settings apps. It doesn't need you to make extra steps to turn on the Game Mode.

And there is a way to tell that whether the Game Mode is activated. You can exit the full-screen mode on Mac, and you can see a little game icon on the right side of your Menu Bar if the Game Mode is on. If you want to disable Game Mode on macOS Sonoma, just click the icon and tap Turn Game Mode Off on the drop-down menu.

A new Game Porting Toolkit for developers

If you are a game developer, you would be glad given that Apple has also announced a special tool called Game Porting Toolkit, which is designed to make it easier than ever to port existing games from other platforms to macOS.

With the new tool, developers will be able to quickly assess how well their current game might perform on a Mac in place of months of preliminary work. Additionally, it makes the process of changing the game's shaders and graphics code to fully utilize Apple hardware performance a great deal simpler, cutting down on the overall development time.

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