Highball
Which renderer to use
Highball can run each game through three different Direct3D translation layers. This is what the database knows for this title — empty rows are open questions, not failures.
| Renderer | Verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| DXVKDirect3D 9-11 over Vulkan | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| DXMTDirect3D 11 over Metal | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Reported | 1 report |
No dated Highball run yet. When one lands it records the renderer, the engine build and the macOS version it was seen on — which is what stops a verdict quietly rotting. Send one.
Notes
Plays in one report on an M1 on the Wine 11 engine r30 with athei's x87sidecar switched on (HB_X87SIDECAR=1 in the environment's variables, Highball 0.10.26) and DXVK, at about 40 fps (highball-db#901). Without the sidecar the title screen ran at about 7 fps, and D3DMetal crashed on the way in. Choose the controller in the game's settings at every start. It's a 32-bit game.
Known issues
The title screen stutters at about 7 fps and the game crashes on the way in (M1, Wine 11 r28, D3DMetal)
What helps put the environment on the Wine 11 engine r30 or r31, add HB_X87SIDECAR=1 to its variables and use DXVK. The game is then snappy at about 40 fps on an M1 (highball-db#901, 2026-11-06, credit udance4ever). On DXVK it doesn't crash
Why not diagnosed
The opening logo plays in slow motion on the Wine 10 engine
What helps the Wine 11 engine plays it normally
Why not diagnosed
No controller input until a controller is chosen in the game's settings, at every start. On a DualSense RT isn't recognized
What helps with the mouse, open the game's controller settings and scroll to Xbox 360 controller, then apply. On a DualSense map High Profile to RB, Action Camera to L3 and Center Camera to R3 (highball-db#901, credit udance4ever, from a Steam community discussion). EaglePatch through the Ultimate ASI Loader loads under Wine with dinput8=n,b in the environment's DLL overrides (log, highball-db#901, 2026-11-07), but it didn't change the controller for the reporter (highball-db#901, 2026-11-08)
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by udance4ever (highball-db#901, 2026-11-02), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.24, engine x64-crossover26.3-r28, D3DMetal, rated 2 of 5 after 5 minutes: the title screen runs at 7 fps and the game crashes on the way in. The logo ran in slow motion on the Wine 10 engine r29 and normally on the Wine 11 engine. Not verified by the maintainer. udance4ever again on highball-db#901 (2026-11-03): with ROSETTA_X87_PATH set for athei's x87sidecar the title screen stutter didn't change, but that run's log has no sidecar attach line, so the sidecar most likely wasn't active. udance4ever again on highball-db#901 (2026-11-04) showed ROSETTA_X87_PATH set correctly in the environment's variables. Highball 0.10.25 removes a ROSETTA_X87_PATH set by hand and sets it only itself, when the environment has HB_X87SIDECAR=1 and its engine ships the sidecar (the Wine 11 engines r30 and r31, Highball 0.10.26), so a hand-set path never reaches Wine there. So the 2026-11-03 sidecar test didn't run with the sidecar. udance4ever again on highball-db#901 (2026-11-06), the Wine 11 engine r30 with athei's x87sidecar switched on (HB_X87SIDECAR=1 in the environment's variables, Highball 0.10.26), DXVK: the game is snappy at about 40 fps and plays through the campaign. A controller is only used after choosing Xbox 360 controller in the game's controller settings with the mouse, at every start, a tip from a Steam community discussion. With a DualSense, RT isn't recognized, even through Steam Input, so the reporter mapped High Profile to RB, Action Camera to L3 and Center Camera to R3. udance4ever again on highball-db#901 (2026-11-06): tried EaglePatch through the Ultimate ASI Loader for the controller, with no change. The log line the reporter quotes for DINPUT8.dll in the game's folder ends in builtin, so Wine's own dinput8 loaded there, not the loader. udance4ever again on highball-db#901 (2026-11-07), r30, DXVK, with dinput8=n,b in the environment's DLL overrides: the log shows the Ultimate ASI Loader running, DINPUT8.dll in the game's folder loads as native in AssassinsCreed_Dx10.exe and loads scripts\EaglePatchAC1.asi, so the patch runs under Wine. The reporter suspects it needs real Windows, since the player it worked for used Parallels. udance4ever again on highball-db#901 (2026-11-08), with dinput8=n,b now set for both exes in the Wine 11 environment's own winecfg: the ASI Loader (the native DINPUT8.dll in the game folder) loads Wine's own dinput8 from system32 to pass the game's DirectInput calls on, then loads EaglePatchAC1.asi (log), but the controller behaves the same.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Assassin's Creed work on Mac?
Assassin's Creed has no native Mac build, but it is reported to run on Apple Silicon through Highball, a free open-source compatibility layer. This comes from community reports rather than a Highball test run, so treat it as a reasonable expectation rather than a guarantee.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run Assassin's Creed on Apple Silicon, working or not, a report takes a minute and fills in the empty rows above. Send a report, or read how the data is put together.