Valve's Steam gaming client is finally getting an Apple Silicon native upgrade

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in macOS

Years after Apple shifted to Apple Silicon, and after an on-again, off-again effort by Valve, the company has finally issued a beta version of the Steam client.

Valve's steam logo, set on a blue background
Valve updates the Steam app



There have been Apple Silicon games on Steam for a long time. But, only now, five years after Apple's technology debut, is Steam finally hitting the endgame on a native client.

The latest beta, published late Thursday, has made the Steam Client and Steam Helper Universal apps.

The option to participate in the beta isn't hidden, and doesn't require a special set of permissions. In the Settings menu, there's an Interface option. All the user has to do is opt into beta updates, and restart the client to get the new download.

In our brief testing this morning on a M1 Ultra Mac Studio the client performs as you'd expect it to. There don't appear to be any user interface changes, nor anything of any note beyond the client being a Universal app.

The writing is on the wall for Intel Macs. Apple announced very early during the 2025 WWDC that macOS Tahoe will be the last version to fully support Intel Macs. There will be security updates for some time to come, though.

Worse for gamers is what Apple said about Rosetta 2 support. In the same State of the Platform presentation, Apple said that Rosetta 2 would end in the fall of 2027, with scaled back support for unmigrated games.

What scaled back means, exactly, isn't clear. All Apple has said so far is that "we will keep a subset of Rosetta functionality aimed at supporting older unmaintained gaming titles, that rely on Intel-based frameworks."

Apple isn't likely to say anything more about it until the 2026 WWDC.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 460member
    Hopefully that means Apple works with Steam to make a temporary Game Porting Toolkit native mod until developers decide to update their applications.
    Penziargonaut
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  • Reply 2 of 9
    Penzipenzi Posts: 53member
    apple4thewin said:
    Hopefully that means Apple works with Steam to make a temporary Game Porting Toolkit native mod until developers decide to update their applications.
    OMG that would be wonderful! I don’t see the business case from Apple’s end, though. I imagine they’re somewhere between unconcerned to gleefully embracing that Mac gaming should pass through the App Store and leave residues in their pockets… 
    williamlondonmuthuk_vanalingamargonaut
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  • Reply 3 of 9
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 460member
    Penzi said:
    Hopefully that means Apple works with Steam to make a temporary Game Porting Toolkit native mod until developers decide to update their applications.
    OMG that would be wonderful! I don’t see the business case from Apple’s end, though. I imagine they’re somewhere between unconcerned to gleefully embracing that Mac gaming should pass through the App Store and leave residues in their pockets… 
    At least for an initial run, it gives Apple a bigger name in the gaming space, especially if Apple does include the Mac equivalent to PCVR, which looks like it wasn’t mentioned here in AI, but UploadVR made an article about it (https://www.uploadvr.com/macos-spatial-rendering-announced-wwdc25/). If Apple decides to improve spatial rendering, we might be looking at a headset that overtakes many big players like Varjo (or at least takes some of their market).
    williamlondonAlex1Nargonaut
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  • Reply 4 of 9
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,817member
    Apple needs to keep improving Apple Silicon GPU’s and the supporting software used within the five ecosystems, keep up the good work and make it better. 
    neoncatwilliamlondonargonaut
     2Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 9
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 3,555member
    Apple has done the two big things they needed to do:

    1. show that they are serious about AI. They’ve done that. Is it super grrat? No. But they’ve launched and now it’s about quiet iteration. 

    2. Revamp the UI. Did it need a redo? Not really. But in a world where change gets confused with progress, it’s sometimes necessary. 

    They’re still innovating with all software and hardware. 

    But one huge market is basically untapped: cutting edge AAA GAMING. 

    I and many others would love to not have to buy a console to enjoy some downtime - or worse yet, a GAMING PC that will be outdated in a year. 

    Apple’s silicon and Metal framework are ready for a takeover. There are just 3 things Apple needs to do:

    1. become a AAA games publisher. START BY PURCHASING some substantial studios with critical IP. 

    That could be a huge publisher like EA and/or talented indie studios that produce crazy games like Star Citizen. 

    2. Go after the studios like you’re courting them. Launch a dev team to help studios get their games ported to Apple silicon as efficiently and easily as possible. 

    3. Create a tiered development profile that allows for every non-obsolete Apple product to be supported. This system would have set levels for lowest denominator products all the way up to M series Ultra SOCs. Built in AI upscaling along the likes of DLSS across the board. 

    4. Get some exclusives and some timed exclusives during the launch year to ensure “Apple Arcade technology” is seen as the preeminent destination for bleeding edge gaming. 

    5. Engineer a dedicated gaming controller. But also allow for third party controllers. 

    This would be killer. Everyone has an iPhone iPad or Mac. Even Vision Pro owners would be thrilled. 

    It boggles why this hasn’t been done already. 
    neoncatmuthuk_vanalingamargonaut
     2Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 9
    michelb76michelb76 Posts: 754member
    apple4thewin said:
    Hopefully that means Apple works with Steam to make a temporary Game Porting Toolkit native mod until developers decide to update their applications.
    There is no incentive for developers to do that (for the foreseeable future).
    williamlondonargonaut
     0Likes 2Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 9
    michelb76michelb76 Posts: 754member
    9secondkox2 said:

    It boggles why this hasn’t been done already. 
    There is no market for mac gaming. Performance still isn't great except for the top model macs, which are not begin bought by gamers. Also, there is very little to no profit in gaming for PC due to rampant piracy. Only console games make a bit of money because of the lock-in. The gaming market for PC is dying.
    9secondkox2williamlondonargonaut
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  • Reply 8 of 9
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 3,555member
    michelb76 said:
    9secondkox2 said:

    It boggles why this hasn’t been done already. 
    There is no market for mac gaming. Performance still isn't great except for the top model macs, which are not begin bought by gamers. Also, there is very little to no profit in gaming for PC due to rampant piracy. Only console games make a bit of money because of the lock-in. The gaming market for PC is dying.
    thete is a huge market. Though it’s largely untapped due to barebones support by apple. 

    And you completely ignored by tiered settings. Even consoles have performance and quality modes. This is more advanced, but can be managed at the package level. 

    Apple devices are ubiquitous. But most don’t think they can get a quality gaming experience due to Apple’s lack of investment. And unfortunately it’s been true so far with the exception of casual games like flappy bird. 

    But we are talking AAA gaming. If Apple got serious and did something like squiring EA and Robert’s Industries, it would be a massive catalyst. The hardware is already out there. And if Apple launched an “Apple Arcade” Apple TV device, they’d be poised not to compete, but dominate. 

    Apart from such moves, things will stay as they are. Not great as their isn’t much incentive to port games to Apple. 
    argonaut
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 9
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,282member
    So it's snappier?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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