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 | Reported | 1 report |
| 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
Reported playable twice: 55 minutes on Wine's own Direct3D (M4 Pro, engine r3) and 60 minutes on an M4 with the environment on DXVK (engine r17). The second report saw black line segments flicker in a grid across the picture on Wine's Direct3D, which the game's Definition and Shadow settings did not change, brief stutter when turning the camera until -availablevidmem 4000 was added to the game's launch options, and a DualSense that the game only saw after the two WineBus values Highball's Controllers through SDL tweak sets. The row now points at DXVK, the mode of the longer and more detailed report, for a 2008 Direct3D 9 game. Needs the Rockstar Games Launcher for sign-in on Steam. A 9 minute report on an M5 with the CrossOver based engine rated it playable with workarounds, usually smooth with frequent stutters, once it was installed in the environment that has the Rockstar Games Launcher. No measurement here yet.
Known issues
Black line segments in a grid pattern flicker across the picture in play on Wine's Direct3D (reported on an M4, engine r17)
What helps Set the game's graphics mode to DXVK, where the same reporter played an hour
Why Not investigated here. The game's Definition and Shadow settings do not change it
Brief stutter when moving the camera (reported on an M4, engine r17)
What helps The reporter added -availablevidmem 4000 to the game's launch options in Steam and the stutter stopped. Not applied by the row, one report so far
Why Not investigated here. The game budgets video memory from what the driver reports
A DualSense controller is not seen by the game (reported on an M4)
What helps Apply the Controllers through SDL tweak from the environment's recipes (it sets Enable SDL and DisableHidraw under HKCU\Software\Wine\WineBus, the two values the reporter set by hand), then restart the environment
Why Wine's controller driver reads the pad through the Mac's raw HID path as well as SDL, and some games only see it through SDL
Provenance
Reported by Bipolaire (highball-db#108, 2026-09-17), Apple M4 Pro, macOS 27.2 as entered, Highball 0.9.19, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r3, Wine's Direct3D, rated 4 of 5 (playable, minor issues) after 55 minutes. Michael-Liendo (highball-db#280, 2026-10-02), Apple M4, macOS 27.0, Highball 0.10.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r17, the environment on DXVK, rated 4 of 5 after 60 minutes. Not verified by the maintainer. Yas1ne (highball-db#853, 2026-11-01), Apple M4 Pro, macOS 26.6.2, Highball 0.10.22, engine x64-crossover26.3-r9, WineD3D by the report (the environment's mode is DXMT), rated 5 of 5 after 1 minutes: a one minute look. ake6ck (highball-db#969, 2026-11-04), Apple M5, macOS 26.6, Highball 0.10.23, engine x64-crossover26.3-r29, DXVK by the report (the environment's mode is DXMT), rated 3 of 5 after 9 minutes: usually smooth with frequent stutters. It only booted once installed in the environment that has the Rockstar Games Launcher (recipes rockstar, steam and vcrun2022), with DXMT_ALLOW_CROSS_PROCESS_SWAPCHAIN=1 set.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition work on Mac?
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition 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 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition?
DXVK. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXVK for Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition. 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 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition 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.