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 | 1 report |
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
Plays in one report on a base M1 with D3DMetal on the Wine 11 engine r30, the Epic copy, at about 40 fps at 1920x1080 (highball-db#961). On the default Wine 10 engine (r29) the logos and the game stay black with only sound and subtitles. An Unreal Engine game on Direct3D 12.
Known issues
Black screen with only sound and subtitles, in the game itself as well as the logos and cutscenes (M1, D3DMetal, Wine 10 r29)
What helps move the environment to the Wine 11 engine r30 with D3DMetal, where the videos and the game draw (highball-db#961, 2026-11-07, credit udance4ever). DXMT doesn't run it, it's DirectX 12 only
Why most likely videos that don't decode. GStreamer's 'gst_caps_is_fixed' assertion is in the log three times, the same assertion Bloody Spell's videos hit (inferred, not checked with this game)
On the first launch the 2K logo crawls at about 4 fps (M1, Wine 11 r30, D3DMetal)
What helps none needed, the next launch was fine
Why not diagnosed, most likely first-use work that later launches skip
Provenance
Reported by udance4ever (highball-db#961, 2026-11-03), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.25, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r29, D3DMetal, rated 2 of 5 after 3 minutes: the Epic copy. The title screen draws at about 30 fps on medium settings, but in game only the subtitles show over a black screen, at 60 fps. The logos at start stay black for about 35 seconds too, with their sound playing. The log has GStreamer's 'gst_video_info_from_caps: assertion gst_caps_is_fixed (caps) failed' three times. Not verified by the maintainer. udance4ever again in a comment on highball-db#961 (2026-11-04): the game itself, not only its cutscenes, stays black with sound and subtitles. udance4ever again on highball-db#961 (2026-11-07), the Wine 11 engine r30, D3DMetal (Game Porting Toolkit 4.0 beta 3 by the Metal HUD): it plays. The intro video shows, the real-time cutscenes and the open world draw, at about 40 fps at 1920x1080 on a base M1 (GPU about 25 ms a frame). On the first launch the 2K logo crawled at about 4 fps, on the second it was fine. DXMT refuses it, the game is DirectX 12 only. udance4ever again in a comment on highball-db#961 (2026-11-07): the reporter never disabled Media Foundation for this game, the Wine 11 engine alone was enough.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does New Tales from the Borderlands work on Mac?
New Tales from the Borderlands 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 New Tales from the Borderlands 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.