Valve has unveiled a significant update to its Steam Client Beta, now optimized to run natively on Apple Silicon. This announcement, made on the Steam Community website, marks a pivotal moment for gamers using Apple computers, as both the Steam Client and the Steam Helper will benefit from enhanced performance by eliminating the reliance on Rosetta 2.
Transitioning to Native Performance
The necessity of a native version for Steam has become increasingly clear, particularly as Apple approaches the end of support for Rosetta 2 with the upcoming macOS 27. During WWDC 25, Valve confirmed that macOS Tahoe will be the final update for Intel Macs, a notable shift occurring five years after the launch of the first Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Air.
This transition is poised to gradually enhance the gaming experience on Apple devices. Valve’s ambition to capture a larger share of the gaming market aligns with Apple’s ecosystem strategy. However, challenges remain, including a limited selection of titles compared to the extensive library available on Windows, as well as the higher price point of Apple computers relative to traditional gaming PCs. Despite these hurdles, the performance advantages offered by Apple Silicon cannot be overlooked.
Embracing the Future of Gaming
The phasing out of Rosetta 2 may come as a disappointment to some users, yet it signals a necessary evolution in app development for Apple Silicon. With the M1 chip having debuted five years ago, the time has come for developers to fully leverage the capabilities of this advanced hardware, moving beyond the constraints of a translation layer.
For those eager to upgrade their Steam client on macOS, the process is straightforward. Users should open the Steam app and navigate to Steam > Preferences…. In the Steam Settings window, select Interface, then click on the dropdown menu next to Client Beta Participation and choose Steam Beta Update. This action will prompt a restart of Steam, leading to the download of the updated version (Steam Version: 1749753892 or higher) that operates natively on Apple Silicon. To verify the update, users can check the Activity Monitor, where the Kind column should indicate Apple.
<section class="newsletter-formtop-bar”>
<section class="newsletter-formmain-section” readability=”28″>Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
