News Steam beta gets native Apple Silicon support — the only public Arm version of Steam

[Admin]

Another Rosetta 2 holdout gone

Steam beta gets native Apple Silicon support — the only public Arm version of Steam : Read more

 

[John Nemesh]

Hopefully, they will get Proton working on MacOS now! If they had that, Mac would actually be a viable gaming platform!

 

[Bikki]

Thank you Valve for the support and Jowi for a good article.

 

[TerryLaze]

Another Rosetta 2 holdout gone

Steam beta gets native Apple Silicon support — the only public Arm version of Steam : Read more

Valve also has no choice but to create a native version for Steam,

MacOS has like 6% market share in desktop, and only a small fraction of that will be systems that people will also be gaming on....
Steam has another choice and that would be to completely ignore macos and not waste resources on something that will probably never pay off those resources.

That being said, cool move from valve to make the effort.

 

[cirdecus]

MacOS has like 6% market share in desktop, and only a small fraction of that will be systems that people will also be gaming on....
Steam has another choice and that would be to completely ignore macos and not waste resources on something that will probably never pay off those resources.

That being said, cool move from valve to make the effort.

I completely agree. The idea that "They had no choice" because of Apple removing Rosetta 2 is silly. only 1.4% of steam users are on Mac. Valve doesn't need Apple at all, but rather Apple needs Valve. Even there is a native Steam client, it's unlikely and unproven that most AAA game will run well on Apple silicon and with such a small user base, even less likely that any developer will make games for Mac.

While Apple may be using its "ecosystem" to attract gamers, it's Microsoft's "open" approach that has succeeded. No one wants to be boxed into an "ecosystem" unless forced.

 

[Bikki]

now, it's time for dota 2 native apple silicon support

 

[Loadedaxe]

I completely agree. The idea that "They had no choice" because of Apple removing Rosetta 2 is silly. only 1.4% of steam users are on Mac. Valve doesn't need Apple at all, but rather Apple needs Valve. Even there is a native Steam client, it's unlikely and unproven that most AAA game will run well on Apple silicon and with such a small user base, even less likely that any developer will make games for Mac.

While Apple may be using its "ecosystem" to attract gamers, it's Microsoft's "open" approach that has succeeded. No one wants to be boxed into an "ecosystem" unless forced.

The idea that Apple is completely dependent on Valve is outdated. While it's true that Mac gaming has historically lagged behind Windows, Apple has been making a serious push into gaming in 2025, investing in native game support, hardware optimizations, and developer incentives.

Apple Silicon has already proven itself capable of running AAA games, with titles like Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding performing well on M-series chips. The argument that "no developer will make games for Mac" ignores the fact that Apple is actively partnering with studios and improving its gaming ecosystem as we speak.

As for the ecosystem debate, Apple’s approach may be closed, but it’s also highly optimized, leading to better performance and efficiency. Microsoft’s open approach has advantages, but Apple’s strategy is clearly working, as evidenced by its growing presence in gaming.
The gaming industry is evolving, and dismissing Apple’s efforts outright ignores the real momentum behind its push into the space.

Change is inevitable. You may doubt it, but its happening.

Lets look at some real numbers just from the last quarter.

Lenovo – 24.5% market share, 15.2 million units shipped.
HP – 19.9%, 12.8 million units.
Dell – 14.4%, 9.6 million units.
Apple – 8.7%, 5.5 million Macs shipped, up from 4.8 million in Q1 2024.
Asus – 5.2%, 3.2 million units.
Source: Forbes

This is cute "While Apple may be using its "ecosystem" to attract gamers, it's Microsoft's "open" approach that has succeeded. No one wants to be boxed into an "ecosystem" unless forced".

Isn't that the same as being boxed into Windows?

 

[TerryLaze]

The idea that Apple is completely dependent on Valve is outdated. While it's true that Mac gaming has historically lagged behind Windows, Apple has been making a serious push into gaming in 2025, investing in native game support, hardware optimizations, and developer incentives.

Apple made a serious push into gaming in the 90ies as well, anyone remember the pippin?!
They can push as much as they want, outside of smartphones their market is way too small to support a gaming industry.

 

[Loadedaxe]

Apple made a serious push into gaming in the 90ies as well, anyone remember the pippin?!
They can push as much as they want, outside of smartphones their market is way too small to support a gaming industry.

It’s true that Apple’s earlier ventures into gaming, like the Pippin, didn’t exactly leave a lasting legacy. But the landscape today is vastly different. Apple now has a massive, unified hardware and software ecosystem, M-series chips capable of handling demanding games, and one of the largest user bases on the planet.

While Mac’s share of the traditional gaming market is still relatively small, the company is actively investing in tools, developer partnerships, and hardware to change that. And with games now spanning across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, the definition of "gaming" on Apple’s platforms has evolved significantly.

No one’s claiming Apple will replace Steam or the broader PC market overnight, but it’s clear they’re in it for the long haul this time.....with far more resources, reach, and strategic focus than they had in the '90s.

Plus, with Mac sales hitting record highs, 5.5 million units shipped in Q1 2025 alone, it’s clear Apple isn’t slowing down or getting complacent. If anything, this is the perfect time to push forward. With PC gaming becoming increasingly expensive, Apple has a real opportunity to offer a more accessible, integrated alternative for a broader audience.

As the saying goes, never say never.