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
Starts and reaches its setup screens on the default engine on an M1 Max, but has not reached a race yet. Every version uses TAGES Solidshield, which activates online through EA's servers, and its activation window stayed hidden while a second display was connected. The game needs NVIDIA's legacy PhysX, which it ships in its install\PhysX folder. On DXVK the GPU is lost as a race starts, with MoltenVK's Internal Error 0000010d right after passes drawn with no render target, the fault Portal 2's HDR pass caused. In DXMT mode (Direct3D 9 still goes through DXVK there) the window disappears when the game changes display mode. Nothing was measured here.
Known issues
The activation window never appears after Steam's CD key dialog
What helps disconnect the second display for the activation, as for Steam's own sign in window (highball#479)
Why it opens off screen when a second display is connected
PhysXLoader.dll cannot be loaded
What helps run install\PhysX\PhysX_SystemSoftware.exe from the game's folder with Run a Windows program… in the environment, then stop the environment
Why the game needs NVIDIA's legacy PhysX runtime
On DXVK the game hangs as a race starts with the sound looping (MoltenVK Internal Error 0000010d, then VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST)
What helps none confirmed. Untested: Wine's own Direct3D for this game
Why a GPU fault right after passes with no render target, as in Portal 2's HDR pass; not diagnosed for this game
In DXMT mode the window disappears when the game changes display mode
What helps none confirmed. Untested: Emulate display mode changes in the game's settings
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by Dloshak (highball#241, 2026-10-25), Apple M1 Max Mac Studio with two displays, Highball 0.10.22, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r28, a separate environment with Steam: activation and menus reached, a race not yet. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Shift 2 Unleashed work on Mac?
Shift 2 Unleashed 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 Shift 2 Unleashed 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.