During WWDC 2023 this year, Apple announced the addition of "Game Mode" to macOS 14 Sonoma and launchedProprietary Game Porting Toolkit tool resources, making it easier for more developers to port Windows platform games to the Mac platform (even directly previewing the game's performance on the Mac platform before it is adjusted), Codeweavers updated theCrossOver 23.0.0In the new version, support for DirectX 12 is further enhanced in the Windows simulation environment, allowing Mac models with CrossOver installed to run more Windows games.
As more and more Windows games are based on DirectX 12, even if users have previously installed software such as CrossOver and Parallels Desktop, many new games will not be able to start normally because they only support the DirectX 11 version.
In this update, Codeweavers has implemented support for DirectX 23.0.0 in CrossOver version 3 through VKD12D and MoltenVK software resources, and is built on Wine 8.0.1, allowing users to smoothly run DirectX 12 compatible games on Mac models with CrossOver installed. It also improves geometry shader performance, and improves image distortion and black screen phenomena that may have occurred in games such as "MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries", "Street Fighter V", "Tekken 7", and "Octopath Traveler".
Codeweavers emphasized that this update includes over 5000 adjustments, with the most significant being the addition of DirectX 12 support, enabling users to run more games that require it. If nothing unexpected happens, the next version of Parallels Desktop, also expected to be released in the second half of the year, will also include DirectX 12 support and improved gaming performance.
However, Apple has enhanced macOS 14 Sonoma, adding not only a new "Game Mode" to boost performance but also providing developers with the Game Porting Toolkit, making it easier for them to preview the performance of their games ported to the Mac platform. Previous test results have shown that many games that originally only ran in Windows environments can run smoothly on the Mac platform without any optimization adjustments, suggesting that this may attract more developers to bring their games to the Mac platform.
But after all, not all developers will bring their games to the Mac platform, so software such as CrossOver and Parallels Desktop still have room to play, and can also meet the usage needs of more software that only runs in a Windows environment.
