Skip to main content

Apple may have great news for Mac gamers at its ‘Scary Fast’ event

Apple’s “Scary Fast” event is just around the corner, and we already know Macs will be the focus. But a claim has just been made that Apple will dedicate much of the October 30 show to Mac gaming, which could be good news for anyone who enjoys playing games on Apple’s computers.

That’s the assertion made by MacRumors, and the news outlet puts forward several pieces of evidence to back up its ideas. In the end, it makes a lot of sense — but there’s still no definitive proof.

How to play Fortnite on Mac
Dan Baker / Digital Trends

One of the hints MacRumors cites is the A17 Pro chip inside the iPhone 15 Pro. This chip comes with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and Apple made a point to emphasize its gaming chops during the company’s September event. That chip is built with the same 3-nanometer tech as we’re likely to see in the M3 chips rumored to debut at Apple’s “Scary Fast” event, suggesting hardware ray tracing — and games that utilize it — could soon come to the Mac.

As well as that, Tim Millet, Apple vice president of platform architecture, has previously gone on record saying that the company is working with developers to bring flagship AAA games to the Mac. Combined with the launch of Game Mode and the game porting toolkit in macOS Sonoma, Monday’s event could be the perfect time to demonstrate new games running on new Macs.

An event to savor?

Gaming on Apple's Macs being presented at WWDC 2023.
Apple

There are more clues available when you look outside Apple’s four walls, MacRumors claims. For one thing, game developer Capcom recently revealed that Resident Evil Village would be available on iPhones and iPads on October 30 — the same day as the Apple event. This could be a coincidence, or it could foreshadow some sort of Mac gaming tie-in at the show.

Similarly, Sony is also planning to launch a cloud streaming service for PlayStation 5 games on October 30, potentially hinting at a coordinated reveal alongside the Apple event. That said, the shared date could simply be a fluke.

Finally, MacRumors claims that a source has told its reporters that Apple has timed its “Scary Fast” event for 5 p.m. PT because it will “fall during business hours in Japan.” That’s important because the show will apparently include “a major tie-in with a Japanese game developer” — which could mean Capcom or Sony (but is more likely to be the former given that Sony usually focuses on gaming hardware over software).

At the end of the day, most of this information is fairly speculative, and there has been no confirmed proof that Apple’s event will focus on Mac gaming. But as MacRumors has made clear, there are plenty of hints that that could be the case. If the outlet is correct, it might be an event to savor for Mac gamers.

Alex Blake
In ancient times, people like Alex would have been shunned for their nerdy ways and strange opinions on cheese. Today, he…
How to watch Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Mac launch event if you missed it
how to watch apples scary fast event if you missed it apple

Apple Event - October 30

Apple revealed refreshed Mac computers and its latest chip at its special “Scary Fast” event on Monday.

Read more
Why the MacBook Air is still stuck on the M2
A stack of MacBooks is pictured from the top down.

Apple just did something surprising. At its "Scary Fast" launch event, Apple announced a new chip, the M3.

But rather than introduce it in a MacBook Air like it did with the M1 and M2, this event was all about the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air was inconspicuously missing.

Read more
Apple has everything it needs to dominate gaming — except games
A 24-inch iMac with Civilization VI running on it.

Apple is finally hitting its stride with gaming. The company today announced the new M3 family of chips during its "Scary Fast" event, and they pack a redesigned GPU that adds some much-needed features for gaming in 2023. There's just one problem -- you can't play a ton of games on Mac.

There are some great games available on Mac -- just check out our list of the best Mac games -- but the big hurdle for Apple has always been broad game support. With the release of M3, along with some recent developments to porting games from Windows to Mac, Apple has a chance to make its gaming ambitions a reality. But all of that effort won't matter until we see games releasing on the platform alongside PC and consoles.
A game-changing GPU

Read more