A Reddit post this week showed Portal 2, the 32-bit one, running on an M4 Mac with no virtual machine involved. That is worth explaining, because the headline undersells what is actually happening: nobody resurrected the old 32-bit Mac binary. What runs is the Windows version, through a translation layer. If you have other old 32-bit Mac games sitting unplayable in your library, the same approach applies to plenty of them.

Why 32-bit Mac games stopped working

macOS dropped support for 32-bit apps entirely starting with Catalina in 2019. Any Mac game, or any Mac app, that was never updated to a 64-bit build simply stopped launching from that point on, regardless of which Mac you own. This is not specific to Apple Silicon: an Intel Mac on Catalina or later has exactly the same problem.

Portal 2 is the textbook example. Valve's official macOS build has remained 32-bit since release, and there is an open request on Valve's own GitHub asking for a 64-bit or Apple Silicon build that has sat unresolved for over a year. Rosetta 2, Apple's translation layer for running Intel apps on Apple Silicon, does not help here either: Rosetta translates 64-bit Intel code to Apple Silicon, but it does not revive 32-bit binaries, which macOS itself refuses to launch at the operating system level.

What the Reddit post is actually doing

The trick is to stop trying to run the old Mac build at all, and instead run the Windows version of the same game through CrossOver, a commercial compatibility layer built by CodeWeavers. CrossOver translates Windows API calls into native macOS and Metal calls without needing a Windows license or a virtual machine.

This has gotten dramatically better recently. Apple's own Game Porting Toolkit, announced at WWDC 2023 and built on CrossOver's technology, added support for translating 32-bit Windows games during the macOS Sonoma beta cycle, alongside a roughly 20 percent performance improvement. CodeWeavers has continued improving the underlying engine since, with CrossOver 26 specifically marketed around removing artificial incompatibilities with Windows games on Mac.

The distinction that matters: Portal 2's Mac build is 32-bit and unsupported. Portal 2's Windows build is 64-bit, actively playable, and runs well under CrossOver on current Apple Silicon. You already own it if you own the game on Steam; Steam simply serves the Windows files instead of the broken Mac ones once you are running through CrossOver.

Setting up CrossOver for an old game

  1. Install CrossOver from CodeWeavers. It is paid software with a free trial; check current pricing on their site.
  2. Create a new Bottle inside CrossOver, choosing Windows 10 64-bit as the compatibility template.
  3. Install Steam inside the Bottle like you would on a real Windows PC, by running the Steam installer through CrossOver.
  4. Log into your existing Steam account inside that Windows Steam install. Your library, including games you already own, shows up normally.
  5. Install the game from inside Windows Steam, not from the macOS Steam app. This is what pulls down the 64-bit Windows build instead of the old 32-bit Mac one.
  6. Launch it from inside the Bottle. Graphics translate through CrossOver's D3DMetal layer to Apple's native Metal API.

How well does it actually run

Results vary by game and by Mac, and the honest answer for Portal 2 specifically is "good, with some visual quirks," based on community-reported testing rather than a guaranteed outcome:

  • On M1-generation Macs, community reports range from smooth 60 FPS at high settings to crashes after extended play, depending on specific settings and resolution.
  • A recurring visual bug across multiple testers: the far side of a portal does not always render correctly. This is a known quirk of running Source-engine portal rendering through a translation layer, not a sign you configured something wrong.
  • On M3 and M4 Macs, reports describe performance as essentially bottleneck-free for a game this old.
  • If CrossOver alone does not run a specific title well, Parallels (a full virtual machine running actual Windows) is a fallback some users prefer for troublesome games, at the cost of needing an actual Windows license.

Expect to spend some time in Bottle settings adjusting resolution and graphics options if the defaults stutter. This is closer to tweaking a PC game on modest hardware than to the plug-and-play experience of a native Mac app.

Does this work for other old 32-bit games

The same principle applies to any older game that has a 64-bit Windows build but only ever shipped a 32-bit Mac build, which describes a meaningful slice of pre-2019 Mac game ports. It does not apply to games that:

  • Never had a Windows version at all (rare, but it exists for some older Mac-exclusive titles).
  • Use heavy anti-cheat or DRM systems that specifically detect and block translation layers.
  • Require hardware features CrossOver and Game Porting Toolkit do not yet translate well, which shows up as crashes rather than slowdowns.

Check a title's entry on a community compatibility database before buying CrossOver specifically for it, since results differ wildly by game. Our broader Golden Gate gaming guide and app compatibility guide cover the wider picture for Golden Gate specifically.

If CrossOver does not work for your game

  • Parallels with a real Windows license is the most compatible option, since it runs actual Windows rather than translating calls on the fly. It costs more in setup time and a Windows license, but handles titles CrossOver struggles with.
  • Cloud gaming services such as GeForce NOW or Boosteroid stream the game from a remote Windows machine, sidestepping local compatibility entirely, at the cost of needing a solid internet connection.
  • An old Intel Mac or external drive running an older macOS that still supports 32-bit apps (Mojave or earlier) is the only way to run the original Mac build as intended, if you specifically need that rather than any working version of the game.

A few more questions

Do I need to buy the game again for Windows? No, if it is on Steam and you already own it. Steam serves whichever platform build matches what you install from inside, so logging into the same account inside a Windows Steam install run through CrossOver gives you the Windows files using your existing purchase.

Does this work with GOG, Epic, or other stores? The same CrossOver approach generally works for any launcher's Windows build, not just Steam. Expect slightly more setup, since you are installing that store's Windows client inside the Bottle too.

Is CrossOver free? No, it is commercial software with a free trial period. Apple's own Game Porting Toolkit, which some of the same translation technology is built on, is free but aimed more at developers testing their own titles than at end users wanting to play existing games.

Will this damage my Mac or void anything? No. CrossOver runs as a normal macOS app and does not modify system files or require disabling any security features.

The short version

  • 32-bit Mac apps have not run since Catalina, on any Mac, Apple Silicon or Intel. Rosetta does not fix this.
  • The current fix is running a game's 64-bit Windows build through CrossOver or Apple's Game Porting Toolkit, not reviving the old 32-bit Mac build.
  • Install Windows Steam inside a CrossOver Bottle, log into your existing account, and install the game from there.
  • Expect some visual quirks on games like Portal 2; performance on M3 and M4 Macs is generally strong.