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 | community reports |
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
EAC is userspace under Wine — runs; use d3dmetal (D3D12) A reporter played 231 minutes on D3DMetal on an M1 with macOS 26.6.2 and rated it perfect, which is the longest session recorded for it here; frame rate not measured. A second perfect report on an M3 with macOS 27.0 and engine r10, D3DMetal with frame generation 2x. That reporter's controller was not recognised until they switched Wine's controller driver in the registry (HKCU\Software\Wine\WineBus, DisableHidraw=1 and Enable SDL=1), after which it worked. A third report, five minutes on an M4 Pro with the environment in DXMT mode, also perfect; too short to say more than that it starts and plays there.
Known issues
Controller not recognised (reported on an M3, macOS 27.0, engine r10).
What helps The dependency "Controllers through SDL" (recipe controller-sdl) sets Wine's controller driver to SDL only, the same two registry values the reporter set by hand. Restart the environment after applying. Reported working, not verified here.
Why not measured. The reporter fixed it by switching Wine's controller driver from the system HID path to SDL.
Provenance
community consensus (AppleGamingWiki / r-macgaming / MacPlay), unverified by Highball. A user (highball-db#179, 2026-09-22) rated it 5, perfect, Apple M1, macOS 26.6.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r5, Highball 0.9.33, D3DMetal, 231 minutes played through Highball with the steam and vcrun2022 recipes. nimbold (highball-db#228, 2026-09-26): rated 5, perfect, Apple M3, macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r10, Highball 0.9.37, D3DMetal with frame generation 2x and AVX advertised. MonuCarpenter (highball-db#324, 2026-10-05), Apple M4 Pro, macOS 27.0, Highball 0.10.3, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r19, the environment in DXMT mode, rated 5 of 5 after a five-minute session.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Elden Ring work on Mac?
Elden Ring 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.
Which renderer should I use for Elden Ring?
D3DMetal. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records D3DMetal for Elden Ring. 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 Elden Ring 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.