Mac compatibility
Can you play Gears 5 on a Mac?
Short answer: Likely to work, but not tested yet — Gears 5 requires DirectX 12, which Grapple runs through D3DMetal. Try it on the Free plan and tell us how it went.
What we know
Steam lists Gears 5 for Windows only. Its minimum and recommended requirements both call for DirectX 12.
Grapple includes Apple's D3DMetal, which handles DirectX 11 and 12, fetched with the engine in a one-time setup download, so a DirectX 12 game needs no toolkit hunting from you. That's an expectation, not a result — we haven't tested this one.
Steam's store page doesn't flag a kernel-level anti-cheat. AreWeAntiCheatYet lists Gears 5 as running on Linux/Proton with Easy Anti-Cheat: it works there, but the developer hasn't officially enabled it.
Steam notes that it requires a third-party account: Xbox Live.
Grapple settings
Nothing verified yet. Where to start, based on its DirectX version (in the app, the same options are in the game's settings):
- DirectX 12 runs through D3DMetal, which comes with Grapple — a new install already uses it, and nothing needs downloading. See the Game Porting Toolkit guide.
- To see frame rates, turn on the Metal HUD:
grapple set Steam hud on
Heads-up: this game uses Easy Anti-Cheat. Anti-cheat support can differ between Linux and macOS, so treat online play as unverified until someone has run it.
Test record
None yet.
Played it on Grapple?
Tell other players whether Gears 5 works for you. One tap does it.
FAQ
Can I play Gears 5 on a Mac?
Likely to work — not tested yet, but nobody has tested it with Grapple yet. That's what the game's published facts suggest, not a result. The page changes to Works once players report it working.
What might stop Gears 5 from working?
It uses Easy Anti-Cheat. Whether it accepts a Wine-based layer on macOS isn't documented anywhere we can cite, so online play may still be blocked. DirectX 12 is the newest thing Grapple translates, so it's also where we've seen the most surprises. Nobody has run this one yet.
Which DirectX does Gears 5 use?
Gears 5's requirements list DirectX 12. Grapple starts it on D3DMetal, Apple's DirectX 11 and 12 translator, which Grapple includes and uses by default.
Is there a Mac version of Gears 5?
Steam doesn't offer a macOS build of Gears 5; it's listed for Windows only.
Sources
Every factual claim on this page comes from these. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
- Steam store page — system requirements, platforms and anti-cheat disclosure (checked 28 September 2026)
- AreWeAntiCheatYet — Gears 5, listed as "Running" on Linux/Proton (checked 28 September 2026)
Try Gears 5 yourself
Grapple's Free plan runs one game, forever, so you can find out on your own Mac without paying. Then tell us how it went with the buttons above, so the next player knows.
Gears 5 is a trademark of its owner and is named here only to identify the game. Grapple isn't affiliated with or endorsed by The Coalition.