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 | community reports |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Untested | no report yet — send one |
Last confirmed 2026-09-08. That run predates per-report engine and macOS logging, so those are not recorded for it. A newer report would carry both.
Notes
Plays. Reported on an M5 Pro over several sessions: on the built-in ProMotion display with Highball's frame rate limit at 120, DXMT, raw input on, it plays perfectly. On an external 60 Hz monitor the game's own "Wait for vertical sync" held the frame rate at 59.95; turning it off frees the frame rate, but the view still stutters while the mouse moves (smooth when walking, jitter only from camera movement), on DXMT uncapped and on DXVK alike; DXVK with Highball's limit at 60 and the game's at 120 is mainly playable with noticeable camera jitter. Kayf-Life shows the same; Portal 2 on the same monitor does not. A second reporter played 185 minutes on DXVK on an M3 Max with macOS 27 and rated it playable with minor issues. Not tried here. A later report has it perfect on DXVK with Highball's frame rate limit at 60 on an M4 with macOS 26.6.2, engine r7, after 10 minutes.
Provenance
reported by hayden9002 (highball-db#11), Apple M5 Pro, several sessions, unverified by Highball. Site-Ark-M (highball-db#148, 2026-09-20): rated 4, playable with minor issues, Apple M3 Max, macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r3, Highball 0.9.19, DXVK, 185 minutes played through Highball; the minor issues were not described. Bobiswifi (highball-db#229, 2026-09-26): rated 5, perfect, Apple M4, macOS 26.6.2, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r7, Highball 0.9.35, DXVK with the frame rate limit at 60, 10 minutes played through Highball. amaipudding (highball-db#239, 2026-09-27): rated 5, perfect, Apple A18 Pro, macOS 27.0, Highball 0.9.38, engine x64-crossover26.3-r7, DXMT with the frame rate limit at 60, one minute played through Highball.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Team Fortress 2 work on Mac?
Team Fortress 2 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 Team Fortress 2?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for Team Fortress 2. 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 Team Fortress 2 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.