With the release of Counter-Strike 2, it seems Valve are continuing to move away from macOS support just like they did with SteamVR. Thankfully, Valve are still investing in Linux and CS2 is supported on Linux.
It was a little odd to see the Steam page remove mentions of macOS when CS2 launched, and now it has been confirmed via their support post that older hardware and macOS support is ending. As they said:
As technology advances, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue support for older hardware, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems. Similarly, we will no longer support macOS. Combined, these represented less than one percent of active CS:GO players.
Moving forward, Counter-Strike 2 will exclusively support 64-bit Windows and Linux.
Not really that surprising is it? Apple does make things more difficult with the Metal graphics API and their newer processors, and since as Valve said the player-base really was tiny Valve's time is better spent elsewhere. Does make me curious on what the Linux player count is though, but Valve aren't likely to drop Linux considering their continued investments across Steam Deck, SteamOS, Proton, graphics drivers, Linux kernel work and more.
They're also offering refunds on the Prime Status upgrade if the purchase was made between the announcement of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test (March 22, 2023) and the launch of Counter-Strike 2 (September 27, 2023) if you're affected by it up until December 1st, 2023. Valve put up a legacy CS:GO version for now but support for that will end January 1st, 2024.
Perhaps some macOS users may want to give Linux a try…
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
ssj17vegeta Oct 11, 2023
Apple really goes out of their way to make things difficult for game developers. Seems like a sensible move.
15 Likes, Who?
Could it be Valve saying to Apple to "support Vulkan or get left behind"?
15 Likes, Who?
MacOS, iOS & Safari are the modern equivalent for Internet Explorer 6.
"Everybody" uses them yet nobody wants to support them.
The weird thing in all of this is that Apple contributed to the development of many of the standards they are no longer upholding.
"Everybody" uses them yet nobody wants to support them.
The weird thing in all of this is that Apple contributed to the development of many of the standards they are no longer upholding.
9 Likes, Who?
AFAIK Apple started the Metal API more or less the same time AMD released their Mantle API. When Vulkan appeared, they had already invested a lot in Metal, so they made the call to continue that path.
Now, was it the right move? If you look at their revenue from Apple store, looks like they did. But I had the feeling that is iPhone related. My impression is that their desktop stuff don't look any better than before, although they continue to get some support from a couple big names.
The recent release of a Apple's "Proton" indicates that things are not rosy, meaning Metal adoption is not in the levels they wanted it to be.
I had the feeling that while Tim Cook is in charge, things will remain the same. But I wouldn't be surprised if the next CEO, in a effort to boost profits, starts to drop anything that is proprietary in exchange for industry standards, like Chromium and Vulkan, to cut costs and make shareholders happy.
Now, was it the right move? If you look at their revenue from Apple store, looks like they did. But I had the feeling that is iPhone related. My impression is that their desktop stuff don't look any better than before, although they continue to get some support from a couple big names.
The recent release of a Apple's "Proton" indicates that things are not rosy, meaning Metal adoption is not in the levels they wanted it to be.
I had the feeling that while Tim Cook is in charge, things will remain the same. But I wouldn't be surprised if the next CEO, in a effort to boost profits, starts to drop anything that is proprietary in exchange for industry standards, like Chromium and Vulkan, to cut costs and make shareholders happy.
0 Likes
Apple basically want developers to make software only for them and distribute it only through them. There are a lot of people who do that and thrive within their ecosystem. It's a tough sell for games, and I don't mean those free to play pay to win things phone stores are full of.
9 Likes, Who?
DamonLinuxPL Oct 11, 2023
Well they also make cs2 unplayable for many Linux players. Game just crashing at launch without any clear indications.
Similar with dota2 after migrating to sdl3. In Dota most of people was affected by #
"Wayland bug" but even after fixing it, there is some people that can't play at all because game crashing or gives illegally instructions at launch.
Similar with dota2 after migrating to sdl3. In Dota most of people was affected by #
"Wayland bug" but even after fixing it, there is some people that can't play at all because game crashing or gives illegally instructions at launch.
1 Likes, Who?
Perhaps some macOS users may want to give Linux a try…
I suggested to a Mac user that they get a Deck for their gaming needs; they did, and it seems to have gone well: they're now recommending the Deck to other Mac gamers. So, yeah...
17 Likes, Who?
As Apple is insisting on using their proprietary stuff only and thus making life unnecessarily difficult for developers, this is a fully understandable step.
And unlike with Linux, macOS neither as the potential to gain significant % in the gaming market nor does it offer any real benefit/safeguard for Valve as Linux does.
Nobody stops them from implementing Vulkan, too though. It's not an either-or, so Apples insistence on "Metal only" is nothing but purely political.
Last edited by Termy on 11 October 2023 at 1:56 pm UTC
And unlike with Linux, macOS neither as the potential to gain significant % in the gaming market nor does it offer any real benefit/safeguard for Valve as Linux does.
AFAIK Apple started the Metal API more or less the same time AMD released their Mantle API. When Vulkan appeared, they had already invested a lot in Metal, so they made the call to continue that path.
Nobody stops them from implementing Vulkan, too though. It's not an either-or, so Apples insistence on "Metal only" is nothing but purely political.
Last edited by Termy on 11 October 2023 at 1:56 pm UTC
5 Likes, Who?
ThatOneGuy Oct 11, 2023
Has anyone here actually been able to run the legacy version of CSGO that they put up?
I tried putting the game on the csgo_legacy branch, but it doesn't seem to work for me for whatever reason, it just always launches CS2 instead.
Last edited by ThatOneGuy on 11 October 2023 at 3:05 pm UTC
I tried putting the game on the csgo_legacy branch, but it doesn't seem to work for me for whatever reason, it just always launches CS2 instead.
Last edited by ThatOneGuy on 11 October 2023 at 3:05 pm UTC
0 Likes
Everything has been going to this for a long time. From 2025, can we expect the complete cessation of Steam support on mac OS? Perhaps Apple itself will help in this. 
1 Likes, Who?
StalePopcorn Oct 11, 2023
Apple are the assholes here. They create an expensive, walled garden ecosystem and push their own agenda of exclusivity in technologies in their encrypted, serialized hardware (before the prices are even considered or their anti-consumer attitudes and feigning interest in catering to the few gamers they want to keep stuck paying into the upkeep of their walls and garden) and software that, after a couple of decades of being a proponent for, I can no longer invest in or suggest others invest in. I loved macOS… but I can't open my heart where a pimp is involved. And so began my slow switch to open source everything that was available for macOS before completely jumping ship. The Linux ecosystem caters to the end user. I'm also very grateful for Valve at the end of the proverbial day.
5 Likes, Who?
Honestly I'd play CS2 but bot mode is gone.
I don't really play PvP , just PvE and playing with friends versus bots for a few games was fun.
Now it's not allowed. Bots are dumb as pigshit and you can't have a human versus bots game - for some reason.
I don't really play PvP , just PvE and playing with friends versus bots for a few games was fun.
Now it's not allowed. Bots are dumb as pigshit and you can't have a human versus bots game - for some reason.
4 Likes, Who?
It looks like Apple's switch to ARM affected the viability of Macs as a gaming platform.
0 Likes
Philadelphus Oct 11, 2023
MacOS, iOS & Safari are the modern equivalent for Internet Explorer 6.Everybody? 🤨 In the US, iOS is used by around half the population of smartphone-havers. In every other country, that ratio is skewed more towards Android – it's about 70% usage share worldwide. Safari's holding steady at about 20% of browser traffic. I don't know the usage of MacOS more generally – certainly there are some industries where it's more widely used* – but general experience and vibes suggest Windows still makes up the majority of corporate computer OSs.
"Everybody" uses them yet nobody wants to support them.
Also, I don't understand the comparison; websites went to ridiculous lengths to support Internet Explorer as long as it was around, precisely because "everybody" used it. If Mac software achieved the usage statistics that IE did, people would be supporting it per force.
*In my field of astronomy, basically nobody uses Windows, it's all MacOS or Linux.
2 Likes, Who?
As a Linux user, I'm not a fan of this it's-too-few-gamers attitude. Valve just doesn't make it, and that's okay. They are just people for whom the day has no more than 24 hours. And Apple really does have a corrosive policy. They are now worse than Microsoft in the bad old days.
Only one should not underestimate the network effect. If three friends play CS together every now and then and one of them is a Mac user, they will play something else from now on.
Only one should not underestimate the network effect. If three friends play CS together every now and then and one of them is a Mac user, they will play something else from now on.
0 Likes
AFAIK Apple started the Metal API more or less the same time AMD released their Mantle API. When Vulkan appeared, they had already invested a lot in Metal, so they made the call to continue that path.
Now, was it the right move? If you look at their revenue from Apple store, looks like they did. But I had the feeling that is iPhone related. My impression is that their desktop stuff don't look any better than before, although they continue to get some support from a couple big names.
The recent release of a Apple's "Proton" indicates that things are not rosy, meaning Metal adoption is not in the levels they wanted it to be.
I had the feeling that while Tim Cook is in charge, things will remain the same. But I wouldn't be surprised if the next CEO, in a effort to boost profits, starts to drop anything that is proprietary in exchange for industry standards, like Chromium and Vulkan, to cut costs and make shareholders happy.
Well it was the right move in that it helps keep vendor lock in, which ofc always was the reason behind Metal.
2 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Oct 12, 2023
Could it be Valve saying to Apple to "support Vulkan or get left behind"?
Apple only sees one thing, and that is gross profit, grofit!
Last edited by TheRiddick on 12 October 2023 at 2:06 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Most OS seem to serve the user and the real world, macOS seems to serve Apple's yearly WDC marketing show. Endless bugs for new hardware selling features that look good in presentation format but leave users with expensive failing bricks afterwards, outdated by the next WDC. To the point the company now needs to harp on about the environmental impact its latest line of devices supposedly no longer has. Valve are right to drop this joke of an OS until Apple realises the captain is cooked.
2 Likes, Who?
MacOS, iOS & Safari are the modern equivalent for Internet Explorer 6.As much as I dislike modern Apple software, there is a fundamental difference between Safari & IE: the engine is FOSS and is used by many open source projects, whereas IE was an enemy of interoperability.
AFAIK Apple started the Metal API more or less the same time AMD released their Mantle API. When Vulkan appeared, they had already invested a lot in Metal, so they made the call to continue that path.In the past they invested in Rave then OpenGL, yet they dropped all these. The main motivation for them is the convergence with iOS and tvOS, and forcing metal upon users and developers is a way of both reinforcing and taking advantage of the domination of smartphone gaming.
1 Likes, Who?
hardpenguin Oct 12, 2023
Welp that is just depressing. But Apple actively and constantly sabotages gaming on Mac.
2 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me