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 | 1 report |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Reported | 2 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
D3D11; works Reported on the Epic copy by atkgitxp (highball-db#46, 2026-09-14), Apple M4 Pro, macOS 26.6.2, Highball 0.9.9, default engine, DXMT, 37 minutes: 30 to 55 fps at 100 percent render scale, noise artifacts on Kratos and Atreus that depend on lighting and depth, and inconsistent lighting with AMD FSR on, so the reporter recommends turning FSR off. A second report from an M5 plays it on D3DMetal with the Wine 11 engine r10 for 36 minutes, rated perfect, no frame rate given.
Known issues
Noise artifacts on Kratos and Atreus depending on lighting and depth on DXMT (reported on an M4 Pro)
What helps none verified, the reporter recommends turning AMD FSR off in the game's settings, which also cured inconsistent lighting
Why not measured
Provenance
community consensus (AppleGamingWiki / r-macgaming / MacPlay), unverified by Highball. Also reported by halite-inc (highball-db#79, 2026-09-16), Apple M5, macOS 26.6.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r3, D3DMetal, rated 5 of 5 after one minute on a self-built Highball carrying GPTK 4. Again by halite-inc (highball-db#254, 2026-09-29), Apple M5, macOS 27.2, engine x64-crossover26.3-r10, D3DMetal, rated 5 of 5 after 36 minutes on a self-built Highball (version 0.0.0-dev).
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does God of War work on Mac?
God of War 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 God of War?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for God of War. 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 God of War 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.