Games provide a great escape from real life, and when we are plagued with a (temporarily) unstoppable virus, one has got to divert thy mind. I do it by reading books; some prefer shooting people in their heads. We live in a world where tech is ubiquitous and affordable. Even a $135 smartphone can run Call of Duty Mobile, albeit with some hiccups.
Apple’s M1 MacBooks (and iPads) are making Intel dwarf on many counts, including performance, battery, and overall efficiency. Since the launch of the new M1 MacBooks, its four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores are the talks of the tech town. This begs the question, can the M1 win in a fistfight against a high-end gaming rig?
Compatibility has been an issue, as many apps and games don’t support Apple’s chipset. Adobe expanded its support for the M1 chip with its usual apps, but many still lurk in uncertainty. While that is a matter for another article, I have found some 100+ best games for M1 Mac Mini, Air & Pro. These are the game you know and the ones that you have played before. So, without any further adieu, let’s see those exciting names.
Where to buy these games?
Apple doesn’t allow sideloading (typical), so if you thought you’d just download them from an unverified source and for free, you are so wrong. All the games listed below are available on Mac’s App Store. Apart from that, you can find them on GOG, Steam, and Nvidia GeForce Now.
100+ Best Games For M1 Mac Mini, Air & Pro
- 112 Operator
- A Dance Of Fire And Ice
- A Hat in Time
- A Total War Saga: Troy
- AER: Memories of Old
- Age of Empires HD Edition
- Age of Empires II HD Edition
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
- Age of Mythology: Extended Edition
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- Albion Online
- Alien Swarm Reactive Drop
- Alien isolation
- American Truck Simulator
- Among Us
- Aperture Tag: The Paint Gun Testing Initiative
- Apex Legends
- Arma 2
- Asphalt 9 Legends
- Assassin’s Creed Rogue
- Assetto Corsa
- Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game
- Baba is You
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition
- Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition
- Banished
- Barotrauma
- Bastion
- Batman: Arkham City
- BattleBlock Theater
- Battlefield 3
- Battlefield Bad Company 2
- Bayonetta
- BeamNG.drive
- Bioshock 2: Remastered
- Bioshock Remastered
- Bloons TD 6
- Bloons TD Battles
- Bomber Crew
- Borderlands 2
- Borderlands 3
- Bugsnax
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Call of Duty Mobile
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
- Carmageddon
- Castle Crashers
- Caves of Qud
- Cities: Skylines
- Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
- Civilization V
- Civilization VI
- Civilization: Beyond Earth
- Clash of Clans
- Clash Royale
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
- Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
- Conarium
- Company of Heroes 2
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
- Crusader Kings II
- Crusader Kings III
- Crysis
- Cuphead
- Cyberpunk 2077
- CS: GO
- DOSBox
- DOTA 2
- Dancing Line
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
- Dark Raider
- Dark Souls Remastered
- Dark Souls II: Scholar of The First Sin
- Dark Souls III
- Darkest Dungeon
- Darkwood
- Dayturn viewer for OpenSim
- Dawn of Man
- Dayturn viewer for OpenSim
- Dead Cells
- Dead Trigger 2
- Defcon
- Desperados 3
- Destiny 2
- Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- Devil Daggers
- Devil May Cry 5
- Diablo 2
- Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction
- Diablo 3
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
- Dirt 4
- DiRT Rally
- Disco Elysium
- Divinity: Original Sin II
- Dolphin Emulator (Super Smash Bros Melee)
- Dominions 5
- Don’t Starve Together
- Doom
- Doom 3
- DOSBox
- DOTA 2
- Dota Underlords
- Downwell
- Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Edition
- Dragon Quest VIII
- Dragon Raja
- Drawful 2
- Dreamfall Chapters
- Dungeon Warfare 2
- Dust: An Elysian Tail
- Dying Light
- EMERGENCY 20
- Empire: Total War
- Endless Space 2
- Enter the Gungeon
- Euro Truck Simulator 2
- Europa Universalis IV
- Everspace
- Exapunks
- F1 2017
- F1 Mobile Racing
- FTL: Faster Than Light
- Factorio
- Fallout 2
- Fallout 4
- Far Cry 2
- Far Cry 3
- Farming Simulator (2019)
- Farming Simulator (2017)
- Farming Simulator (2013)
- Fear 3
- Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Final Fantasy VII
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
- Firewatch
- Flashing Lights
- Football Manager 2000
- Football Manager 2021
- Fortnite
- FTL
- Game Dev Tycoon
- Geometry Dash
- Gnomoria
- GeForce Now
- Golf with your friends
- Gothic 1
- Gothic 2 Gold Edition
- Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA III)
- Grand Theft Auto 4 (GTA IV)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA V)
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Graveyard Keeper
- Grid AutoSport
- Griftlands (Early Access)
- Grim Dawn
- Grim Fandango Remastered
- Gris
- Guild Wars 2
- Hades
- Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (The Master Chief Collection)
- Hearthstone
- Hearts of Iron 4
- Heroes of the Storm
- Hitman
- Hitman 2
- Hitman Absolution
- Hollow Knight
- Homefront
- House Flipper
- Human Resource Machine
- Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition
- Ikaruga
- Infectonator 3: Apocalypse
- Imperator: Rome
- Infinifactory
- Inside
- Insurgency
- Interplanetary: Enhanced Edition
- Into the Breach
- Jackbox Party Pack 3
- Jagged Alliance Gold
- Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
- Kentucky Road Zero
- Kerbal Space Program
- Kingdoms & Castles
- Krunker
- L.A. Noire
- LEGO Batman 3 Beyond Gotham
- LEGO DC Super-Villains
- LEGO Star Wars The Complete Saga
- League of legends
- Legend of Grimrock
- Legend of Keepers
- Legends of Runeterra
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Life Is Strange
- Limbo
- Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch
- MX vs ATV (Reflex)
- Mafia II Definitive Edition
- Mafia III Definitive Edition
- Magic: The Gathering Arena
- Manifold Garden
- Mario Sunshine (Dolphin GameCube)
- Marvel Strike Force
- Mass Effect 2
- Medieval II: Total War
- Mega Man 11
- Megaquarium
- Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Metro 2033 Redux
- Metro Exodus
- Metro Last Light Redux
- MicroTwon
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- Minecraft
- Minecraft: Java Edition
- Mini Metro
- Monster Train
- Monument Valley
- My Summer Car
- Naruto Online
- Need for Speed – No limits
- Neoverse
- Neverwinter
- Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
- Nexomon
- Noita
- Northgard
- Obduction
- Offworld Trading Company
- Old School RunScape
- Opus Magnum
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- Outer Wilds
- Oxygen Not Included
- Paper Mario: TTYD (Dolphin Emulator)
- Papers Please
- Parkitect
- PascalsWager (version 1.6.2)
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker
- Persona 4 Golden
- Pillars of eternity
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
- Plague Inc
- Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition
- Planet Coaster
- Portal
- Post Void
- Prison Architect
- Project Highrise
- PUBG
- Ravenfield
- Resident Evil 3
- Rigs of Rods (RoR)
- RimWorld
- Rise of Industry
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Risen 1
- Risen 3
- Rocket League
- Rocksmith 2014 Edition – Remastered
- Rome: Total War
- RuneScape
- Running with Rifles
- Rust
- Salt and Sanctuary
- Samurai Jack
- Scrap Mechanics
- Second Galaxy
- Second Life
- Second Life Viewer
- Serios Sam 3
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
- Shadow Warrior 2
- ShellShock Live
- SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition
- Skullgirls
- Sky: Children of the Light
- Skyforge
- Slay the Spire
- Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
- Slime Rancher
- SOMA
- Soul Knight
- SouthPark Phone Destroyer
- Star Trek Online
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2
- STAR WARS: TIE Fighter Special Edition
- Starbound
- StarCraft II
- Stardew Valley
- Starship Titanic
- Stellaris
- Street Legal Racing Redline
- Subnautica
- Subway Surf
- Space Crew
- Spelunky
- Spelunky 2
- Superhot
- Superliminal
- Tabletop Simulator
- Talisman: Digital Edition
- Tank Mechanic Simulator
- Team Fortress 2
- Terraria
- The Banner Saga
- The Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+
- The Binding of Isaac Rebirth
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- The Flame in the Flood
- The Legend of Pirates Online
- The Long Dark
- The Pathless
- The Sims 2 Super Collection (Crashes)
- The Sims 3
- The Sims 4
- The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut (Crossover)
- The Witness
- Tomb Raider
- Torment: Tides of Numenera
- Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition
- Total War Rome Remastered
- Total War: ROME II – Emperor Edition
- Total War: Shogun 2
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Total Warhammer 2
- Townscaper
- Transistor
- Two Point Hospital
- Universe Sandbox
- Untitled Goose Game
- V4
- Warcraft III Reforged
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
- Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut
- Who’s Your Daddy
- Witcher 3 (Crossover)
- World of Tanks Blitz
- World of Warcraft
- Worms Ultimate Mayhem
- Wreckfest
- X-Plane 11
- X-Plane Mobile
- XCOM 2
- Ziggurat 2
FAQs
Is the MacBook Air M1 good for gaming?
The M1 chip is powerful enough for gaming, video editing, and coding. But the main issue is macOS, as it isn’t well optimized for gaming.
Is the M1 chip better than i7?
No, the M1 chip beats Intel i7 in single-core performance, thanks to a PassMark benchmark.
Can we play GTA 5 on MacBook Air M1?
You can play GTA 5 on your M1 MacBook Air. But, unfortunately, the experience won’t be anything to write home about.
Can you video edit on MacBook Air M1?
MacBook Air M1 is one of the best laptops to edit videos. It has a longer battery life with faster performance.
Is Apple M1 better than i9?
Not really! The Intel Core i9 pounds the M1, but M1 is better in terms of power efficiency.
Conclusion
These are the 100+ best games for M1 Mac Mini, Air & Pro. Gamers across the world have physically tested the games, so the list might keep on increasing. The MacBooks weren’t ever known as gaming machines, but you can harvest the raw power and turn it into gaming. The M1 Macs have set a bar too high in terms of performance and efficiency, but it still isn’t the first choice of pro gamers.
PC is and remains the most preferred platform for gaming, according to 76% of game developers who deemed it very crucial for the future growth of the gaming industry. So which device do you use for gaming? Does a Windows PC matter, or an M1 MacBook will satiate your gaming needs? Tell us in the comments below.
