You've seen the HBO show. You've heard the discourse about the PC port's rocky launch. Now, you’re sitting there with a shiny M2 or M3 MacBook Pro wondering if you can finally play The Last of Us for Mac without jumping through a dozen fiery hoops. Honestly? It's complicated.
Sony has been on a tear lately. They're bringing everything to PC—God of War, Horizon, Spider-Man. But the Mac has always been the awkward middle child in the high-end gaming conversation. While Apple’s silicon is objectively powerful enough to handle Joel and Ellie’s trek across a fungal wasteland, Naughty Dog hasn't exactly rushed to hit "export" for macOS.
If you go to Steam right now, you’ll see the Windows icon. You won't see the Apple logo. That sucks. But it isn't the end of the story.
The State of Native Support (Or Lack Thereof)
Let's be real: there is no native version of The Last of Us Part I for macOS. If you were hoping to just click "install" and have it run with Metal 3 optimization, you’re going to be disappointed. Naughty Dog and Iron Galaxy spent the better part of 2023 and 2024 fixing the disastrous Windows launch. Their priority was making sure the game didn't crash every five minutes on an RTX 3080.
Why hasn't Sony ported it? Money. It's always money. Porting a massive, proprietary engine like the one used for The Last of Us requires a heavy lift. Even with Apple's Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK) making things easier, the financial return on Mac gaming hasn't historically tempted Sony enough to divert resources from their PlayStation 6 development or their PC pipeline.
But here is the weird part. Apple is trying harder than ever. They brought Death Stranding over. They got Resident Evil Village. The hardware is ready. The software, specifically the game itself, just isn't officially there yet.
How People Are Actually Playing It
So, how are people playing The Last of Us for Mac if it doesn't exist? You've got three main paths. None of them are "perfect," but they work.
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1. The Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK 2)
This is for the tinkerers. When Apple dropped GPTK at WWDC, it changed the game. It’s essentially a translation layer—think Wine or Crossover on steroids—that allows the Mac to translate DirectX 12 instructions into Metal.
If you have an M3 Max, you can actually get The Last of Us Part I (the PC version) running via GPTK. It isn't a "double-click and play" situation. You’ll need to use something like Whisky or CrossOver 24. The performance is... interesting. On high-end silicon, you can hit 30-40 FPS at 1080p. It feels like a miracle, but you’ll encounter graphical glitches. Shaders take forever to compile. It’s a labor of love, not a seamless experience.
2. Cloud Gaming (The "Easy" Way)
Cloud gaming is the most stable way to experience the story on a Mac right now. Since The Last of Us Part I is on PC, you can technically use services that let you stream your library. However, Sony is protective. It isn't on GeForce Now.
The workaround? PlayStation Plus Premium. You can stream the PS5 version of the game to your Mac using the official PlayStation Plus app.
- The Catch: It's a 1080p stream.
- The Plus: It’s the actual PS5 code, so no bugs.
- The Requirement: You need a solid internet connection and a DualSense controller.
3. Virtualization (Parallels)
Don't bother. Just don't. The Last of Us is a resource hog. Trying to run a Windows VM inside macOS to play a game that already struggles with VRAM management is a recipe for a 2 FPS slideshow.
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If you’re on an old Intel Mac, stop reading. You can’t do this. The integrated UHD graphics or even the aging AMD dGPUs in the 2019 MacBooks will melt.
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The only reason we are even talking about The Last of Us for Mac is because of Unified Memory. In a PC, you have System RAM and Video RAM (VRAM). The Last of Us is notorious for needing 8GB to 12GB of VRAM just to look decent. On a Mac with 16GB or 36GB of Unified Memory, the GPU can tap into that massive pool. That is the "secret sauce" that makes translation layers like CrossOver viable.
If you have 8GB of RAM? Forget it. The game will crash before you leave the Boston QZ. You need at least 16GB to even attempt the translation route.
Comparing the Experience: Mac vs. PC vs. PS5
| Feature | PS5 (Native) | PC (Windows) | Mac (Translation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stability | Rock Solid | Great (Post-Patch 1.1) | Shaky |
| Setup | Zero | Standard Install | High (Terminal/Scripts) |
| Visuals | 4K/HDR | Ultra Settings | Medium/Low (Glitches) |
| Input | DualSense | Keyboard/Mouse/Controller | Controller Preferred |
Honestly, if you own a Mac and a PS5, play it on the PS5. If you only own a Mac, you are essentially "hacking" your way into a sub-par version of a masterpiece. Is it cool to see Joel’s beard rendered on an Apple chip? Absolutely. Is it the way Naughty Dog intended you to see it? Not even close.
Will We Ever Get a Native Port?
There are rumors. There are always rumors. With Kojima Productions bringing Death Stranding to Mac, the door is open. Sony owns the IP, and they’ve shown they are willing to work with external porting houses like Nixxes.
If Sony decides to bring the Decima Engine (used in Horizon and Death Stranding) fully to macOS, a Last of Us port becomes much more likely. For now, it remains a "maybe" in the 2026/2027 window. The release of The Last of Us Season 2 on HBO usually triggers Sony to push the game onto new platforms to capture the hype. That would be the time to watch the Mac App Store.
Technical Nuances You Should Know
If you decide to go the CrossOver or Whisky route, you’re going to deal with Shader Compilation. In the Windows version, this takes 20 minutes. On Mac via translation? It can take an hour.
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Do not skip this.
If you try to play while shaders are compiling in the background, your Mac will turn into a space heater. The frame rate will stutter every time you turn the camera. Let the progress bar finish. Go grab a coffee. Maybe two.
Also, disable Motion Blur. In translation layers, motion blur often causes "ghosting" or weird trails behind Ellie as she moves. Turning it off cleans up the image significantly and actually saves a few precious frames per second.
Actionable Steps for Mac Users
If you are determined to play The Last of Us for Mac today, here is your path forward:
- Check your specs. Do not attempt this without an Apple Silicon chip (M1 or better) and at least 16GB of RAM.
- Choose your method. If you want the best visual quality and have fast Wi-Fi, use PlayStation Plus Premium streaming. It’s the least headache.
- Try the translation route. Download Whisky (it’s free and open-source). Buy the game on Steam. Point Whisky to the Steam installer and hope for the best.
- Optimize settings. Set everything to "Low" initially. Enable FSR 2.2 (FidelityFX Super Resolution) and set it to "Balanced" or "Performance." This upscales the image and is the only way to get a playable frame rate on a laptop.
- Watch the temperature. Use an app like MacFansControl. Crank those fans to the max before you launch the game. Thermal throttling will kill your performance faster than a Clicker kills a survivor.
The reality of The Last of Us for Mac is that we are in a transition period. The hardware is finally here, but the software support is still catching up. You can play it, but you have to work for it. Whether that effort is worth it depends entirely on how much you want to see the Cordyceps outbreak on a Retina display.
Monitor the macOS Gaming subreddits and the Apple Gaming Wiki. These communities are the first to post "CXP" (CrossOver Performance) files that can significantly boost your FPS by tweaking specific system calls. Stay updated, stay patient, and maybe keep a PS5 controller handy.