The independent open-source project FX Steam Launcher now enables Apple Silicon Macs to run the full SteamOS within a virtual machine and play multiple Windows games through compatibility components. This solution does not involve natively installing SteamOS on Macs, and the project is still under active development.
FX Steam Launcher uses Apple's Hypervisor.framework and libkrun to launch virtual machines, adopting the ARM64 version of SteamOS image developed by Valve for the Steam Frame. The project supports Game Mode, KDE Plasma desktop mode, controllers, audio, and GPU acceleration, allowing it to run in windowed or full-screen modes. It can also directly download official Valve images and receive system updates.
Its Windows game compatibility stack includes Proton 11 ARM64, FEX for x86-to-ARM64 translation, as well as components like DXVK, vkd3d-proton, Mesa Venus, and MoltenVK or KosmicKrisp, along with experimental DXMT support. Devices need to run macOS 15 or later, with KosmicKrisp requiring macOS 26 or above. Currently, this solution does not support DirectX 12 feature level 12_1 and Shader Model 6.6.
ETA Prime tested using a MacBook Pro equipped with an M4 Max chip and 36GB of unified memory, allocating approximately 19GB of memory to the virtual machine. "Stellar Blade" achieved over 70 FPS at 800p high settings, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" also exceeded 70 FPS at 1080p high settings, and "Left 4 Dead 2" surpassed 200 FPS at 1080p.
Current compatibility performance remains unstable. "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" exhibits tree rendering errors, and many games suffer from shader compilation stuttering. "DOOM Eternal" refuses to run due to detecting an unsupported GPU, while "Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales" and "Ghost of Tsushima" also fail to launch. Current tests demonstrate the potential of this compatibility solution, but it does not mean that all Windows games are stably supported yet.
