Two of The Witcher games are now optimized for Apple silicon, but not the one you want to play

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Not one but two of the games from The Witcher franchise are now playable on Apple silicon Macs and macOS Ventura, but fans of the series might be disappointed by a notable omission.

In a recent announcement from the official The Witcher X account, the team behind the game confirmed that The Witcher 1 and 2 are now available to play on M1 and M2 Macs via Steam, GOG, and the App Store but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the studio’s most popular title in the franchise, is noticeably missing. Neither The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, nor CD Projekt Red’s most recent game Cyberpunk 2077, are available on Mac right now but this recent support could be indicative of an update further down the line.

As they are older titles, The Witcher 1 and 2 are technically a bit easier to run so may have required fewer resources to get up and running on Mac devices. Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit makes this kind of optimization much easier too. With the right support, we could see much more in the future.

While Apple silicon support technically means you'll be able to play this on Apple's M1 MacBook Air — the chances are you'll need one of Apple's best MacBooks to play it, such as the new M3 Max MacBook Pro. If you haven't taken the plunge with Apple silicon, then the best Black Friday MacBook deals could save you a big chunk of money on one.

Old but Gold — iMore’s Take

Though The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the most popular game in the series, don’t miss out on the older titles. The first Witcher game is definitely flawed but the story and atmosphere are still top-notch and well-loved by its relatively smaller fanbase.

The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings strikes a balance between the janky darkness of the first game and the polish of the third, with more involved RPG elements, a much bigger world, and a winding and complex story. Its graphics are a little dated but the story isn’t. If you have tried out the third Witcher game but never decided to go back and play the older titles, now is the perfect time.

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James is a staff writer and general Jack of all trades at iMore. With news, features, reviews, and guides under his belt, he has always liked Apple for its unique branding and distinctive style. Originally buying a Macbook for music and video production, he has since gone on to join the Apple ecosystem with as many devices as he can fit on his person.

With a degree in Law and Media and being a little too young to move onto the next step of his law career, James started writing from his bedroom about games, movies, tech, and anything else he could think of. Within months, this turned into a fully-fledged career as a freelance journalist. Before joining iMore, he was a staff writer at Gfinity and saw himself published at sites like TechRadar, NME, and Eurogamer.

As his extensive portfolio implies, James was predominantly a games journalist before joining iMore and brings with him a unique perspective on Apple itself. When not working, he is trying to catch up with the movies and albums of the year, as well as finally finishing the Yakuza series. If you like Midwest emo music or pretentious indie games that will make you cry, he’ll talk your ear off.