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 | 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 on a base M4 with DXMT on the default engine (r28) over 9 minutes, with the audio stuttering a lot, and the player says it took some work to get going. The report names NFS13, the program name of the 2012 Most Wanted, so it's taken to be this game. Steam's copy needs the EA app.
Known issues
The audio stutters a lot (M4, Wine 10 r28, highball-db#1207)
What helps none known
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by xxxtan1 (highball-db#1207, 2026-11-14), Apple M4, macOS 26.6.2, Highball 0.10.26, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, DXMT, rated 4 of 5 after 9 minutes: named NFS13 in the report, the program name of the 2012 Most Wanted, so taken to be this game, the copy isn't stated. The audio stutters a lot, and the player had to do some work to get it running. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012) work on Mac?
Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012) 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 Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012) 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.