With 2023 just a few days away, it’s about time we look back at 2022 and reflect on how good it was on Mac gaming. Probably due to the hype of the new and powerful M1/M2 Macs, Mac gaming truly benefitted from unprecedented attention and focus from developers. Apple’s push to work directly with game devs certainly helped too.
In the end, 2022 resulted in a large selection of games within the year, with some games even offering native Apple Silicon support. In this guide, we cover all the best games released in 2022.
Looking for something different? We also have a list of the 100 Top games for Mac in all the best categories.
(We expect Baldur’s Gate 3 for Mac to take the crown in 2023, but we’ll have to wait until the end of the year to confirm that!)
Our absolute favorite Games for Mac from 2022
1. Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is a game so famous, it became a widespread meme for months before the game’s full release. But vampire lady Alcina Dimitrescu is not the only reason you should play this game.
RE Village is a fresh take on the Resident Evil franchise. Breaking away from its usual modern-world settings, Village has an almost medieval take on the theme. However, they still retain the classic Resident Evil-styled mansion house with its traps, puzzles, and guns. This combination of franchise formula and refreshing setting perfectly caters to both new and old players of the RE series.
And just in time for Halloween, RE Village is now available on the Mac App store for M1 Macs. Featuring both solid M1 gameplay and the Winters Expansion DLC around the corner, there’s no better time to try it out. You can see the macOS port in action here.
System requirements: Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or later.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Resident Evil Village | Action | Yes |  | Metal | Native | Excellent |
Psychonauts 2
Unlike movies, for which sequels often disappoint, sequels in gaming are often better than the originals. In fact, some of the best releases mankind has ever seen are sequels. There’s Team Fortress 2, Half-life 2, and Borderlands 2. Psychonauts 2 is no exception. If you are a fan of the first Psychonauts, you’re gonna love this one.
One of the greatest 3D adventure platformers released in recent years, Psychonauts 2 is a work of art. With an insanely unique art style and a psychedelic gameplay experience, Psychonauts 2 is a gem in its genre. Whether it be running on a giant bowling ball or slamming enemies with psychic powers, this game will take you for a wild ride.
Despite being released in 2021, it’s so fantastic we just couldn’t keep it off the 2022 list.
Mac Release date: May 24, 2022
System requirements: macOS 12, Core i5 (I5-7500), 8 GB RAM, Radeon Pro 570 or equivalent, 30 GB hard drive space.
Total War: Warhammer 3
Total War: WARHAMMER III is an RTS game set in the world of Warhammer. Imagine our world, but replace half the population with demons and dragons.
With seven distinct races and different abilities to choose from, Warhammer III feels like a Total War game. Which is a good thing, because the Total War franchise is well known for its heroes, highly strategic warfare, and large scale epic battles. Additionally, Warhammer III has a customizable avatar that you can move around and fight with, making you feel like an actual character controlling the armies.
Unfortunately, Warhammer 3 still has some bugs. But it remains a great game, which is why it claims a spot on this list.
Mac Release date: May 5, 2022
System requirements: macOS 12.0.1, Apple M1 (8‑Core CPU) or better, 8 GB RAM, Apple M1 (7‑Core GPU) or better, 125 GB hard drive space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Total War: Warhammer 3 | Strategy | Yes | | Metal | Rosetta | Good |
Vampire Survivors
Casual games have always had a strange place in the gaming community. People either ignore them or play them occasionally as a stress relief. However, Vampire Hunters are a different breed.
As a casual rogue-lite with gothic horror elements, Vampire Hunters is a retro-styled auto battler. It has a very arcade feel to it: simple movement controls, auto-attacks, power-ups, and endless waves of monsters to kill. The only goal here is to have fun, and Vampire Hunters makes sure of that.
It is hard to explain why Vampire Hunters feels so addicting. Maybe because it feels like a murder slot machine, but really, who knows? Try it out yourself, maybe you’ll find out why.
Mac Release date: September 29, 2022 (full release)
System requirements: macOS 10.11, Intel Core 2 Dual Core 2.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT or ATi Radeon HD 2600 Pro, 16 GB hard drive space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Vampire Survivors | Action | Yes | | TBC | Rosetta | Excellent |
Old World
A combination of Crusader Kings and Civilization, Old World is a great 4X game with some Game of Thrones-styled drama.
In Old World, you take control of a civilization to lead it towards glory in the medieval era. You get to research technologies, conquer distant lands, and mold infrastructure to your desires. But Old World also has family relationships to manage. From murderous sisters to loyal wives, your family affairs are just as important as building your city. This brings a lot of depth to a 4X game, giving the game a more organic rhythm.
Best of all, The Steam version of Old World features native M1 support. No Rosetta is required; just plug in and play.
Mac Release date: May 19, 2022
System requirements: macOS High Sierra 10.13, 6th gen Intel i5 2.7GHz or similar, 8 GB RAM, 2 GB VRAM, 10 GB hard drive space..
Victoria 3
Victoria 3 is a 4X game set in the 19th century. From Paradox Interactive, a company well known for its stellar macOS support and strategy games, Victoria 3 is no different.
Victoria 3 is arguably the most complex 4X game released from Paradox. It has a socioeconomic system so detailed you can hear people complain about the price of tables while discussing their hopes for the future. Combining that with politics, trade, and real-time demand and supply, Victoria 3 begins to sound very complex.
Unfortunately, despite its solid Mac performance, there is currently a bug plaguing the game. At the time of writing this, upon selecting a country, Victoria 3 crashes. Fortunately, this bug has been reported to the developer team, and they are working hard to fix it.
Mac Release date: October 25, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.15, Intel Core i5 Processor, 8 GB RAM, 2 GB AMD RadeonR9 M380, 10 GB hard drive space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Victoria 3 | Strategy | Yes | | TBC | Rosetta | Good |
Dome Keeper
Domekeeper is a highly innovative roguelike that combines base defense and mining.
The gameplay loop revolves around you leaving your tiny glass dome to go mining, hauling back minerals to upgrade your base, and using the upgraded base to kill incoming hordes of enemies. Despite the gameplay loop sounding similar to Stardew Valley, the experience is completely different. The tension is ever-present as you watch the seconds tick down on your clock. Do you risk pushing further for more minerals at the risk of being home late? Or do you play it safe and go home to prepare your defenses?
Additionally, the game runs very smoothly on Mac with no bugs, making for a great gaming experience.
Mac Release date: September 27, 2022
System requirements: Supports x86 hardware, 2.5 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, Support for OpenGL 3.3, 500 MB hard drive space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dome Keeper | Action | Yes | | TBC | Rosetta | Good |
Football Manager 2023
It is safe to say that football is a globally loved sport. It is a pastime and an obsession for many. And with the 2022 world cup coming to a close, there’s no better time to start playing Football Manager 2023.
At this point, Football Manager is the industry standard of football management games. If you’re a gamer that loves football, you will definitely play it, and you will most certainly enjoy it. Featuring the latest statistics and rebalances from the previous Football Manager, Football Manager 2023 is still the best in its genre. With its addictive gameplay loop and high attention to detail, there’s almost no reason to play anything else.
Also, it is natively supported for M1 Macs, which is always a plus.
Mac Release date: November 8, 2022
System requirements: macOS 11, Apple M1 or Intel Core, 4 GB RAM, Apple M1, Intel HD Graphics 5000 or NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with Metal support, 7 GB available space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Football Manager 2023 | Simulation | Yes | | Metal | Native | Good |
 | Football Manager 2023 | Simulation | Yes | | Metal | Rosetta | Good |
Citizen Sleeper
“Wake up Sleeper” sounds a lot like the intro line from Cyberpunk 2077, but I can assure you that Citizen Sleeper is a completely different game.
In Citizen Sleeper, you play as an escaped robot powered by a human mind in a dystopian cyberpunk future. The goal is simple: evade bounty hunters, secure a future for yourself, and stay alive. During this journey, you must use a dice to complete various objectives. Each day cycle will provide you with dice rolls of varying value. How you accomplish your goals with the given dice is the real challenge. Use a high roll now to obtain medicine? Or save it for a bounty hunter?
Trust me; this is one tabletop you don’t want to miss.
Mac Release date: May 5, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.10.5 or above, 2.0 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 2 GB VRAM, 2 GB hard drive space.
Two Point Campus
From the makers of Two Point Hospital, Two Point Campus is their latest product. This time, we’re building a university.
Similar to Two Point Hospital, Campus is about building the university of your dreams. The core gameplay remains the same. Construct buildings, train staff, and take care of your customers. But a key difference is that you’re not trying to quickly process patients through your facility, but to make the student experience as great as possible. With greater environmental control and replay value, Two Point Campus is looking to be a great successor.
To make it even better, Campus is available natively for M1 macs. If you liked Hospital, make sure to check out Two Point Campus too.
Mac Release date: August 9, 2022
System requirements: macOS 12.1, i5 8259U 2.3 GHz, 8 GB RAM, 2 GB GTX 775M or 2 GB AMD Radeon 555 or Intel Iris Plus 655, 6 GB available space.
Inscryption
Inscryption is a very strange game. A peculiar combination of an escape room puzzle and a deck-building game, it truly is one of a kind.
The gameplay loop goes along these lines: You start by playing a card game against a strange opponent. After winning the game, you leave the table to explore the room. After solving some escape room puzzles, you return to the table to fight another mysterious opponent with your deck. It may sound simple enough, but the game has plenty more weirdness to offer.
If that isn’t enough to put this game on the list, Inscryption also has native M1 support. Just make sure to buy the game on Steam and follow the instructions right here.
Mac Release date: June 22, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.13 or above, Intel Core i5-5350U (2 * 1800) or Intel Core i5-2400S (4 * 2500), 8 GB RAM, Intel HD Graphics 6000 or Radeon HD 6750M (512 VRAM), 3 GB hard drive space.
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X-Plane 12
X-Plane 12 is an overall upgrade from its predecessor, X-Plane 11. Currently one of the best flight simulators in the market, X-Plane 12 promises to impress you with its ultra-realistic flying experience.
Using real-world data to simulate weather shifts to the point where actual raindrops are shown on the windshields, the visuals in this game are beautiful. X-Plane 12 also doesn’t disappoint with its incredible physics engine, letting you feel every impact and adjustment you make up in the sky or down on the ground. Not to mention their extensive collection of aircraft, ranging from the F-14 military airplane to the R22 helicopter.
If you’re interested in flying, X-Plane 12 is a good place to start.
Mac Release date: December 17, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.15, Intel Core i3 CPU with 4 or more cores, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon RX 500 or newer, 23 GB available space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | X-Plane 12 | Simulation | Yes | | Metal | Native | Good |
TUNIC
TUNIC is one of the most underrated games to be released this year. An isometric adventure game with Zelda inspired aesthetics and souls-like gameplay, TUNIC has a special place in everyone’s hearts.
In Tunic, you play as a cute fox on an epic quest for adventure. On your journey, you’ll solve puzzles to discover loot and secrets hidden away in this mysterious land. But adventure always brings unseen dangers, and ancient monsters lie in wait for our brave little fox. Luckily, you have a dodge-roll and a sword to help out with such problems.
Additionally, TUNIC is natively playable on M1 Macs, taking this game from good to great for us Mac gamers. And remember, in TUNIC, it’s all about the journey.
Mac Release date: March 16, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.15, Intel i5 Quad-Core 2.7 GHz, 8 GB RAM, GTX 660 / RX 460, 2 GB hard drive space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Tunic | Adventure | Yes | | Metal | Native | Good |
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
The Stanley Parable is a game you probably have heard of, but have no clue of what it is. Explaining what the Stanley Parable is and isn’t, is a very complicated affair.
In a nutshell, The Stanley Parable is a game about Stanley and his choices, or lack thereof. With over a hundred endings plus a couple more in The Stanley Parable: Deluxe Edition, your experience is only limited by your curiosity. But technically, this game has no ending, which also makes every ending scenario pointless.
So what is the Stanley Parable about? It is a game about nothing and everything all at once. There are no endings or beginnings. It is meaningless, yet meaningful. Additionally, play it without spoilers for the best gameplay experience.
Mac Release date: April 27, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.8 or above, Intel i5 or newer, 4 GB RAM, GTX 660 / RX 460, 5 GB hard drive space..
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe | Adventure | Yes | | Metal | Rosetta | Good |
Songs of Conquest
Songs of Conquest is a turn-based RPG with an old-school vibe. In good ol’ hex-grid fashion, you’ll be exploring the world and conquering cities one tile at a time. If Heroes of Might and Magic was your thing, this one is right up your alley.
While the game is still in early access, it already has solid foundations. In proper RPG fashion, there are various types of units and essences that interact in combat. Different types of magic provides different advantages in battle, making army composition very important.
As a final note, there may be some bugs in this game. The game also runs natively on M1 Macs, which is always welcome news.
Mac Release date: May 10, 2022
System requirements: macOS High Sierra 10.13, M1 or Intel 2,6 Ghz, 8 GB RAM, M1 or Radeon Pro 450 2 GB or better, 4 GB hard drive space.
Cult Of The Lamb
Since Cult of the Lamb’s release, it has gained a cult following (wordplay intended), unanimously hailed as an underrated game by the community.
It is clear why people love this game so much. You get to play as a cute lamb managing a cult, building homes for your followers, and committing blood sacrifices. But every cult needs resources, which can be gained by exploring a randomly generated world. Crawl through dungeons in roguelike fashion as you brandish your occult powers to defeat rival cults. With your newly gained followers and materials, return home to expand your domain. Only your cult shall reign supreme in this animal kingdom.
However, there is a game-breaking bug which can prevent you from playing. Hopefully the developers can fix this issue soon.
Mac Release date: August 11, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.9, Intel Core i5-6500, 4 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M390 (2048 VRAM), 2 GB available space.
Stacklands
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the phrase, house of cards. But have you ever heard of a village of cards? Stacklands is a game where cards are stacked in order to build a village.
Stacklands starts off simple. A villager is put on a berry bush to harvest food to feed your village. Surplus cards are sold for money to buy more cards. The new cards become part of the field, increasing your village size. This cycle repeats itself as the game goes on. But as the village grows, so does the list of things to manage, which suddenly makes it a lot more difficult.
Overall, Stacklands is a cute and wonderfully addicting card game. The M1 support also helps to sweeten the deal.
Mac Release date: April 8, 2022
System requirements: macOS 10.13, Dual Core 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, Intel HD4600, 200 MB hard drive space.
Prodeus
Prodeus is a love letter to the pixel shooters of old. Using modern technology with a hybrid combination of old and new mechanics, Prodeus is a unique shooter like no other.
While it might seem like a Classic Doom clone at first glance, especially with its glorious kills and enemy design, Prodeus offers much more. With an incredible blend of both 2D and 3D graphics, meaty-sounding guns, and its own brand of satisfying violence gives this game its unique edge. By combining these elements and the iconic parts of Doom, Prodeus is basically the spiritual successor to Doom in every way possible. If you’re itching for a new fast-paced boomer shooter, try Prodeus.
Mac Release date: September 23, 2022
System requirements: macOS X, CPU @ 2+ GHz 4 cores, 2 GB RAM, NVidia GTX 580 or AMD HD 7870, 4 GB hard drive space.
| Art | Game | Genre | 64-bit? | 64-bit | API | M1 Support | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Prodeus | Shooter | Yes | | Metal | Native | Good |
Our Criteria
Games are subjective and Top 10 lists even more so. To keep this list as fair as possible and ensure every game listed here is worth it, we made sure the following set of criteria is always met:
Native: Every game listed here natively supports macOS. This means they won’t need Wine, Parallels, Bootcamp, or any other third-party app to run. Just install any of these games on your machine and enjoy.
Performance: Obviously, we think every game on this list is solid in terms of graphics, gameplay, and stability. But performance is also a key factor to consider: we Mac users keep our computers for a long time. Mac Gamer HQ is the only place that tests and benchmarks games on several machines and shows you actual performance, not just listed system requirements.
Critical acclaim: To counter the fact that games are extremely subjective, we focus only on the games that have received good reviews by critics and average gamers. We’re not looking to please everyone, but we want to make sure these games have been generally enjoyed.
Pricing: Price tags are not the most important factor, but they still count. Sometimes a game that is only $10 will be superior to a game that costs $60. We know you’re looking for the best value for money. We are too.
Your Turn
Finally we’ve made it to the end of our list. It truly is a good sign when several of the games on this list are natively playable on M1 software. Not only are these games the best of the best, they are also tailored for our platform. With such striking progress and advancement in the gaming industry, I can only expect further improvements in the number of quality games for us Mac Gamers.
But enough from us, what about you? Do you agree with this list? Have we missed a game you wanted to see? Or maybe we should’ve made the list longer. Whatever it is, we’d like to know your thoughts.
Let us know in the comments section down below, we’re always on the lookout for new recommendations and suggestions.
Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission (this is how we pay the bills). This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
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