Apple made an official announcement yesterday, revealing plans for an online event scheduled for Monday, October 30, commencing at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. There is substantial speculation and anticipation surrounding the event, as numerous indicators point towards Mac gaming being a central theme of this upcoming presentation.
Below, we have recapped Apple’s recent gaming-related efforts on the Mac and other clues heading into the event next week.
Apple’s silicon chips frequently exhibit architectural similarities. Just as the A17 Pro chip powers the iPhone 15 Pro, the much-anticipated M3 series of chips destined for Macs are likely to incorporate hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities, a pivotal advancement in graphics rendering compared to software-based ray tracing. Moreover, the M3 series chips are expected to be manufactured utilizing TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm process, promising both enhanced performance and superior power efficiency when contrasted with their predecessors in the M2 series. These technological strides open up exciting prospects for a broader array of AAA games to become accessible and playable on the Mac platform.
Apple hinted at more AAA games launching on the Mac in a recent interview with gaming publication IGN. When asked if the new games that Apple announced for the iPhone 15 Pro last month would eventually be compatible with Apple silicon Macs, Apple VP Tim Millet said “the developers are going to work with us to do it.” These games include a Resident Evil 4 remake, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
Capcom, the renowned Japanese game developer, recently made an intriguing announcement regarding Resident Evil Village. They disclosed that the game will become available on the iPhone 15 Pro and on iPad models equipped with the M1 chip and newer, starting on October 30. It’s worth noting that this coincides with Apple’s upcoming event next week. online event scheduled
While it’s possible that the alignment of the release date with the event is purely coincidental, it does raise the possibility of more Mac-focused gaming news emerging from Apple and potentially other game developers, including Capcom. We received information from a source suggesting that Apple’s choice of an unusual event time, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, was intended to coincide with business hours in Japan. Furthermore, there are hints of a significant collaboration with a Japanese game developer during the event, though this information has not been independently verified for accuracy.
It’s also noteworthy that the App Store currently indicates that the Resident Evil 4 remake is set to launch on Macs with the M1 chip and newer on December 31. However, this date is a mere placeholder, and there is a possibility that the release date may be moved up following Apple’s event. Notably, the game has already been released for Windows PCs, the PS4/PS5, and the Xbox Series X/S in March.