Since macOS Sonoma, Macs with Apple Silicon have been able to use an advanced game mode. While the Mac isn’t known as the ideal platform for playing games, Apple wants to get more out of your Mac and its games with this game mode.
Thanks to Apple Silicon chips, Macs have more computing power than ever before in terms of general and graphical performance. Game mode ensures that the game is prioritized and certain tasks and processes are optimized.
Benefits of Game Mode for Mac
When Game Mode is active, macOS gives the highest CPU and GPU (graphics) priority to the game, reducing usage for background tasks. This will result in higher frame rates and a better gaming experience.
Game Mode also dramatically reduces Bluetooth latency between Mac and AirPods, and doubles Bluetooth transmission speed with PlayStation and Xbox controllers.
In the past, Intel Macs often had their integrated graphics processor as the bottleneck when it came to graphics performance. These were mainly intended for displaying general apps. Now that all Macs are available with an Apple Silicon chip, all Macs are equipped with a super fast GPU (graphics processor). This paves the way for being able to ‘game’ on a Mac.
Enable Game Mode for Mac
As a Mac user, you have no control over when Game Mode is enabled. Apple has automated this process and it will only be enabled when you are playing the game in full screen mode.
Open a game and click on the green button (top left) in the window to display the window in full screen. Alternatively, you can click on ‘View’ in the menu bar and choose ‘Enable full screen display’
An on-screen notification will appear when Game Mode is activated, prioritizing the CPU and GPU and doubling the Bluetooth sampling rate, reducing input latency and audio latency for wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods.
Disable Game Mode
Game Mode will automatically turn off when you stop watching your game in full screen. You can also turn off Game Mode while your game is still in full screen. To do this, click on the controller in the menu bar and turn off the mode.
The mode will remain disabled for this game until you manually enable it again via the controller in the menu bar. Even if you quit the game and reopen it, this will remain disabled until you manually enable it again.