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
The 2014 Thief, sold on GOG as THIEF: Definitive Edition and on Steam as Thief (239160), whose Steam release also has a Mac version by Feral. Reported perfect on a base M1 with D3DMetal on the default engine (r29), the GOG copy, at 45 to 60 fps. An XInput controller works, a DualSense isn't supported by the game itself.
Provenance
Reported by udance4ever (highball-db#1127, 2026-11-10), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.26, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r29, D3DMetal, rated 5 of 5 after 15 minutes: the GOG copy, which downloaded and used the reporter's cloud save. 45 to 60 fps, with the drops perhaps from shader compiling. The Metal HUD screenshot shows D3D11 through Game Porting Toolkit 4.0b2 at 60 fps and 1920x1080. No built-in DualSense support, XInput only. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does THIEF: Definitive Edition work on Mac?
THIEF: Definitive 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.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run THIEF: Definitive 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.