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 | Reported | community reports |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Untested | no report yet — send one |
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
The 2000 original (GoldSrc). Reported very playable on the default engine r11 in DXMT mode on an M1, below 60 fps but not needing it. Steam also sells a native Mac build of it, which Highball points out on the game's page since 0.9.39. Nothing was measured here.
Provenance
Reported by JLiveOf (highball-db#240, 2026-09-27), Apple M1, macOS 27.0, Highball 0.9.39, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r11, DXMT mode, the steam and vcrun2022 recipes, rated 4 of 5 after 2 minutes: very playable, never quite 60 fps. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Counter-Strike work on Mac?
Yes. Steam ships a native macOS build, which will beat running the Windows version through any compatibility layer.
Which renderer should I use for Counter-Strike?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for Counter-Strike. Highball uses it automatically when the game has a row; to set it by hand, open Settings, then Environments.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run Counter-Strike 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.