Apple Explains How Game Mode Works in macOS Sonoma

In macOS Sonoma, Game Mode prioritizes CPU and GPU performance for gaming purposes on Macs. For those unfamiliar with Game Mode, Apple on Tuesday published a support document providing more information on how to use the new feature.

Mac Gaming

Game Mode optimizes your gaming experience by giving your game the highest priority access to your CPU and GPU, lowering usage for background tasks. And it doubles the Bluetooth sampling rate, which reduces input latency and audio latency for wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods.

Game Mode requires a Mac with Apple Silicon. Here's how to turn it on in ‌macOS Sonoma‌.

How to Turn on Game Mode

Game Mode turns on automatically when you use these steps to view your game in full screen:

  1. Move your pointer over the green button in the upper-left corner of the game window.
  2. Choose Enter Full Screen from the menu that appears.

When you enter full screen in this way, a Game mode menu appears in the menu bar. You can use this menu to confirm that Game mode is turned on for your game.

macos sonoma 2021 imac game mode menu bar turn game mode off

How to Turn Off Game Mode

Game Mode turns off automatically when you stop viewing your game in full screen, but you can also turn it off while your game is still in full screen mode: From the Game Mode menu in the menu bar, choose Turn Game Mode off. Note that Game Mode will remain off for the game you were playing until you turn it on again, even if you quit and reopen the game.

Have you seen better gaming performance on your Mac using Game Mode? If so, what games have you been playing? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundup: macOS Sonoma
Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

andrewxgx Avatar
11 months ago

I thought it would switch automatically.
Does that mean it's technically not possible?
Pathetic.
did you read the damn article?
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Armada2 Avatar
11 months ago

Does it work on Intel or M1/M2 only?
Here.. I read the small article for you..

Game Mode requires a Mac with Apple Silicon. Here's how to turn it on in macOS Sonoma.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaUser Avatar
11 months ago

Any benchmarks yet? If it helps less than 5%, meh.
I‘d rather see Apple throwing money at studios to optimize for AS, too.
Looking at you, Colossal Order and Cities Skylines 2…
The selection of games running on AS Mac at all is small compared to what could be possible.
in BG3 with mode ON i get 59fps and at the same settings with mode Off i get 46 fps
Hope this helps a bit
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
steve09090 Avatar
11 months ago

I thought it would switch automatically.
Does that mean it's technically not possible?
Pathetic.

How to Turn on Game Mode
Game Mode turns on automatically when you use these steps to view your game in full screen:
How to Turn Off Game Mode
Game Mode turns off automatically when you stop viewing your game in full screen, but you can also turn it off while your game is still in full screen mode:
I'm wondering why they even bother putting details in their stories…
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hyena.ftw Avatar
11 months ago
Wishing Apple good luck with this. Should they keep up doing a good job, in a few years time we may see the new generation of gamers who would be preferring to play on Macs and iPads as opposed to gaming PCs and Consoles.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Feek Avatar
11 months ago
Just tested this with Eve Online on my MBA
Mid 90s frame rate with it running in a window.
110 full screen.

That's quite an increase.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)