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 | 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
Doesn't play in one report on an M1. Without the High Resolution Patch it stops with 'Error initializing video mode 640x480'. With the patch enabled in HiRes Config it starts, then runs in slow motion like Fallout. It's a 32-bit game. Outside Highball, the reporter says Fallout 2 Community Edition (github.com/alexbatalov/fallout2-ce), an open source rebuild of the game's engine that runs natively and uses the game's own data files, works on macOS (highball-db#869).
Known issues
'Error initializing video mode 640x480' at start
What helps enable the High Resolution Patch in the game's HiRes Config, as the reporter did. Emulate display mode changes on the game's page got Red Alert 2 past a similar error, not tried with this game
Why not diagnosed
Runs in slow motion once started, as Fallout does (M1, Wine 10 r28)
What helps none known
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by udance4ever (highball-db#869, 2026-11-01), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.23, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, WineD3D by the report (the environment's mode is D3DMetal), rated 2 of 5 after 1 minutes: 'Error initializing video mode 640x480' until the High Resolution Patch is enabled in HiRes Config, then the same slow motion as Fallout (highball-db#862), the GOG copy. Not verified by the maintainer. udance4ever (highball-db#869, 2026-11-14): Fallout 2 Community Edition (github.com/alexbatalov/fallout2-ce) works on macOS, outside Highball.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Fallout 2 work on Mac?
Fallout 2 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 Fallout 2 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.