How to run Witcher 3 on Mac with Apple silicon CPU

In this guide, you'll learn how to start and properly set up your Witcher 3 game for an optimal gaming experience. The guide is made for computers with Apple M1 chip and newer.

Updating OS

To run the game we will need at least OS 13 Ventura but I recommend to have the current version of macOS, at the time of writing this tutorial it is Sonoma 14 or developer beta Sequoia 15


This is due to the fact that we will be using an application with Rosseta and GPTK technologies, which need the aforementioned macOS to run. This technology from Apple that allows Macs with Apple Silicon processors to run applications designed for Windows

Installing Whiskey

To start the game we will need the whiskey app, which you can get at this GitHub link [github.com]

OR

If you have Home Brew installed on your mac, you can install Whiskey using this simple command in the terminal

 brew install --cask whisky 

Creating environment for running games

We will add our first/next environment, I recommend using Windows 10 to run Witcher, it runs more stable than Windows 11 or other versions. The name can be anything.

Whiskey bottle configuration

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Don't forget to enable DXVK, which stands for "DirectX to Vulkan", it's a translation technology that allows us to run windows applications on Apple silicon Macs. DONT Enable Retina Mode, it will make game lags more and lowers FPS.





You don't need to turn on Hud, but if you do, you'll see details of your Mac's performance

Installing Steam

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After setting up the environment we will download the steam application, in case you don't know where and how, you can find the windows version at this link. After downloading Steam, open the whiskey app and click the "Open C: Drive" button. Go to program files (x86) and copy the downloaded steam.exe installation here.

Installing and running Steam

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Now we can run steam using 2 ways, Pin Program or using the Run button. Select the .exe file and install Steam as if you were installing it on a Windows PC.


After installation, we can pin and run the steam application

Installing Witcher!

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Now we can finally install Witcher, log in to steam, go to your library and start downloading the game. You'll find the downloaded game files in your Steam folder, just like in the Windows version. The path should look something like this:

 /Users/User/Library/Containers/com.isaacmarovitz.Whisky/Bottles/11111ABC-222B-333C-4DEF-56GHIJ7K8L9/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common 

Running Witcher

After testing on my MacBook, whose parameters can be found below, I found that the game runs like this:

Tested with MacBook Pro 16
M2 Pro - 12 core
16 Gb
16" + External 38" 4K monitor - 3840 x 2160 and 2560 × 1080

External 38" 4K monitor:

For all settings is recommended to use borderless fullscreen setting. I initially wanted to play the game at 3840 x 2160 but this resolution is not suitable. FPS were low (around 40 FPS) even at the lowest settings. So I lowered the resolution to 2560 × 1080 which turned out to be the best solution, the game didn't crash and I got stable FPS without losing any details. Do not use NVIDIA HairWork!!!!! The game crashes when you exit the settings! Logically due to the absence of an Nvidia graphics card...

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Ultra + settings:
The game was playable but I would lower it down for best results. In Novigrad or in Tuscany game was running on stable 15-25 FPS. In other less dense parts of map, 25-35 FPS it really depends on location

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Custom settings:
And now we're going to take a look at the best settings. I'm putting up a screenshot of my settings, with these I've achieved a stable 60 FPS almost everywhere. The only places where the FPS dropped to around 50 was Novigrad and downtown Beauclair. Other than that the game ran very stable with amazing graphics.







Here are some screens from the game:


2560x1080


2560x1080


2560x1080


2560x1080

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MacBook 16" monitor:
I used the same settings but changed the display resolution, I found that the best resolution is 1920x1200. The game looks beautiful on a 16" monitor, there is no noticeable loss of detail, the game runs in the 55-80 FPS range everywhere on the map thanks to this. On 14" Macbooks, you can go a little lower with the resolution and get even more FPS.



Here are some screens from the game:


1920x1200


1920x1200


1920x1200


2560x1600

Battery life

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I haven't done a extensive test but with the settings I mentioned above, the game running on MacBook display + in the background, I had safari on with 15 tabs. The game consumed 40% of the battery in an hour.

RATE ME

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Don't forget to rate this guide!

I will be very pleased if you rate or share this guide. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments :)

[FluffyCakesZ]

The screen turned into black when I tried to load my save. So I decided to start a new game, but after all the cutscenes were done (including the in-game cutscenes) suddenly the game glitched and my screen turned into black again. Does anyone can help?

[KaBAN4ik]

Hello people, I have this situation, I have a 2020 Mac, 8GB RAM, 256GB, M1 processor, the Witcher runs fine for me, but over time it starts to lag a lot. If I restart the game and Whiskey himself, the lag disappears, but restarting everything every time is not convenient for me. I read on the forums that it is good to turn on Dixvk, but when I start it, the game freezes after starting the game, that is, I click to continue the game, it starts loading and when everything loads, the game just freezes

[LE_Leviathan]

Do someone has an idea how to get an cloud savegame loaded? I can download it through Extras at the Witcher 3 entry at GOG on Windows, but have no clue how to get it running under macOS.

[3ur1p1d35]

Worked flawlessly and the steps were super easy to follow. Thanks so much for putting this together!!

MacBook Pro M1
8gb Ram
256gb

[Apani]

@LE_Leviathan yes it should work. Just replace installing steam with GOG

[LE_Leviathan]

is this working with Witcher on GOG, as well?

[Kene]

Harika bir çözüm. Teşekkürler

[Apani]

@Deep Durt yes you can. I have played a bit with both Xbox and ps5 controllers

[Deep Durt]

Q: Can you play with an Xbox controller on Sonoma?
In case you were using a controller...

[Mr. Franks]

Interesting guide; I will surely come back to try it and rate it! Thanks for sharing!