For decades, gaming on Mac remained more of an additional feature than a serious option. Windows PCs dominated, offering the best hardware, the largest game library, and the best optimization for them. Mac owners could only hope for a port of their favorite game—usually with a delay of several years and poor optimization.

But now it's 2025, and Apple is actively promoting its M-chips as a powerful gaming solution. M4 MacBook Air looks like an interesting proposition: starting at just $999 ($899 for education). Could this be a budget alternative to a gaming laptop, or is it again a story of compromises and limitations? Let's find out.

M4 MacBook Air Hardware: Power Beyond Size?

The new MacBook Air based on the M4 chip takes performance to an unprecedented level, providing smooth operation in both everyday tasks and professional workflows, and occasionally even in games.

Right to the point: M4 MacBook Air is not a traditional "gaming laptop". It doesn't have a discrete graphics card, it lacks a high refresh rate display, and Apple still doesn't prioritize gaming like Windows laptop manufacturers do. But here's the nuance: Apple Silicon chips have become unexpectedly powerful.

The M4 graphics processor has 10 cores in the base model, and some tests show its performance approaching that of NVIDIA RTX 3050. This is significant because just a few years ago, integrated graphics didn't even come close to the level of discrete video cards. Previously, we could see the M4 chip in the M4 Mac Mini "pocket PC on macOS". Therefore, based on the performance of this device, we can determine how the M4 MacBook Air will perform in games.

Performance: Powerful Integrated Graphics in a Compact Body

Apple is actively trying to attract game developers to Mac, and it shows. Resident Evil Village, Death Stranding, No Man’s Sky, and a few other AAA projects have received native versions for macOS and work excellently—often above 60 FPS at 1080p with MetalFX enabled. Death Stranding, for instance, delivers stable 80-90 FPS at 1080p, which is simply incredible for a thin laptop.

However, the problem remains: there are still few native games for Mac. If a game is available in the App Store, it will likely run well. However, a huge portion of the AAA project library simply doesn't have versions for macOS. So, you have to look for workarounds, and that's where the difficulties begin.

In real gaming tests, the M4 MacBook Air will perform excellently in titles optimized for Apple Silicon. Resident Evil 2 Remake at 1080p with MetalFX in quality mode will consistently hold 40+ FPS. No Man’s Sky, which has official macOS support, will run at Quad HD and maximum settings at 70-80 FPS. Even Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village had no problems delivering 60 FPS at 1080p.

For integrated graphics, these are excellent results. But it's important to understand that these games are exceptions, not the rule.

Steam Library and Compatibility Issues

The main weakness of Mac in gaming is game availability. Open Steam on the M4 MacBook Air, and you'll immediately see how limited your options are. If your library has hundreds of games, you'll only be able to run a small portion of them.

This problem is exacerbated by Apple's decision to discontinue support for 32-bit applications back in 2019, making many old games for macOS completely unplayable. Classic titles like Half-Life 2, Portal, and Left 4 Dead have become hard to access. It seems that today Mac users have fewer gaming options than they did 10 years ago.

However, some major titles do have Mac versions. Civilization VI, Bioshock Remastered, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Metro Exodus run natively, though they are not always optimized for Apple Silicon. For example, Metro Exodus at medium settings consistently delivers about 68 FPS at 1080p. But let's be honest—this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the vast library of games on Windows.

Another issue is Apple's attempt to lock its ecosystem, leaving major titles as exclusives for the Mac App Store. For example, Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village are unavailable on Steam for Mac, even though they have native versions for Apple Silicon. This means that players used to the Steam library will find it hard to transition to macOS.

Workarounds: Crossover and Cloud Gaming

What if the game you want doesn't support macOS? There are a few options.

Crossover is a software layer that allows some Windows games to run on macOS. It handles Portal 2 and Skyrim Special Edition well, delivering high resolution (2.5K) and stable FPS. But with other titles, the situation is worse: Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom Eternal just don't run, and older games may suffer from lags or instability.

For example, Spider-Man Remastered through Crossover delivers 88 FPS on medium settings at 1080p. This is even better than on some Windows laptops in the same price range. Elden Ring, on the other hand, barely reaches 60 FPS even after adjustments.

Another option is Parallels, which allows you to run a full Windows system on a Mac, but it's expensive and significantly reduces performance. So while some Windows games can be made to work, it's far from an ideal solution.

For emulating old consoles, the M4 MacBook Air is a real beast. PS3 emulation via RPCS3 will work surprisingly well—for example, Skate 3 delivers stable 60 FPS. More demanding titles like God of War 3 have frame stability issues. But when it comes to GameCube, Wii, or even Nintendo Switch via Ryujinx, the MacBook Air handles it excellently.

Cloud gaming (GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming) also remains an optimal option, provided you have a good internet connection. But let's be honest: it's available on any device with a good internet connection, so it's more of a way to circumvent the problem rather than a solution.

Benchmarks and Real Gaming Tests

If you're still considering the M4 MacBook Air for gaming, here's how it might perform in games. Note: tests are based on the performance of the M4 Mac Mini with an identical M4 chip installed in the MacBook Air.

Native Mac games run excellently, while Windows titles through Crossover do not always perform well.

So Can You Game on the M4 MacBook Air?

Is the M4 MacBook Air a true gaming laptop? The clear answer is no. Currently, MacBooks are not a true gaming solution, considering the weaker hardware compared to competitors and a number of limitations that prevent you from enjoying gaming in full comfort.

If you're not a gamer per se but like to play something from time to time, and you have nothing but the M4 MacBook Air and don't plan to, then this laptop is an unexpectedly good device for its money, allowing you to play when there's nothing else to do. It demonstrates decent performance and operates completely silently.

But if you want to play modern AAA titles for Windows, it's better to choose a gaming PC or Steam Deck. Even through Crossover, many games either run unstably or don't run at all. And the only adequate solution in this situation will be cloud gaming.

If Apple seriously wants to make Mac a gaming platform, it needs to collaborate with developers to bring more games to Steam, not just the Mac App Store. Until then, the M4 MacBook Air remains an interesting laptop but certainly not a full alternative to PC or even laptop gaming.

Would I recommend it for gaming? Definitely not as a primary gaming device, but as an additional machine for casual or Mac-optimized games, it can actually be good if its actual gaming performance is as good as or close to the M4 Mac Mini.