Game porting toolkit allows games to be ported from macOS to iOS

Apple's porting tool makes it relatively easy to bring Windows titles to the Mac. Now there is another way: from Mac to mobile device.

Icon des Game Porting Toolkit.

(Image: Apple)

Jul 5, 2024 at 11:59 pm CEST

2 min. read

Mac & i

By

Ben Schwan

This article was originally published in German and has been automatically translated.

Apple has also tweaked the Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK) in macOS 15 aka Sequoia: Version 2 of the porting suite has a range of new functions. According to a seminar from WWDC 2024, the GPTK will also support iOS 18 in the future, making it possible to transfer from macOS to iPhone and iPad.

From Windows to iPhone via Mac

This makes two steps possible for the first time: you can first port a Windows game to macOS and then – after a few optimizations if necessary – continue porting to iOS and iPadOS. The latter step is comparatively simple, as the SDKs for graphics, audio and game controller support are almost identical in the systems.

Apple has also published sample code for this: "Build and run on Mac, then iPad and iPhone." With examples of successful porting that developers can look at, potential problems should be ruled out. The Metal Developer Tools for Windows also support existing pipelines for the creation of assets. This means that adjustments can be made directly for GPUs used by Apple devices so that all available options can be used.

Ray tracing and AVX2

GPTK 2 also comes with further enhancements. New gaming technologies are supported, graphics and compute compatibility have been increased and GPTK 2 supports ray tracing and AVX2. Performance has been increased overall. Metal tools for debugging and performance measurement are directly available, including the Metal HUD.

C++ code can be used via Metal-cpp and the complete Metal API is accessible. Debugging for converted shader code is possible in Xcode 16. If you don't have an Apple Silicon Mac, you also have other options for playing Windows games on the Mac. Mac & i has compiled a list of alternatives in a separate article for heise+. These include CrossOver, which has been popular for years. macOS 15 alias Sequoia will be released in the fall, either in September or October. A beta test is currently underway among developers, and a public beta, which anyone interested can test, will be released this month.

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