Valve launched a standalone app for Steam Link on Apple’s MacOS App Store, adding a new option for Mac users who want to play on machines that are often labeled as bad game choices.
Steam Link allows users to stream games from a gaming PC to a compatible device on the same local network and play those games with an MFI or Steam controller.
Valve has already offered a full Steam app for macOS, but it takes up 1 GB of space and has a reputation for being clumsy. In contrast, the Steam Link app has a minimalist interface that appears to have been designed with the game controller peripherals in mind.
Valve also previously offered a Steam Link app for iOS and iPadOS, but this is the first time the company has released software through Apple’s macOS App Store. (The full version of Steam is offered as a web download, not an App Store application.)
Game streaming had a somewhat tumultuous history on Apple’s mobile platforms, but it was a little more optimistic on the macOS side. The same streaming features that Steam Link offers were already possible through the full Steam app for macOS, GeForce Now has a Mac client and Mac users have long enjoyed the ability to stream PlayStation games with an app barebones.
Overall, games on the Mac have had their ups and downs over the years, and lately, things are falling apart. Apple’s move from OpenGL to Metal has enabled much better performance for games whose developers have struggled to support it, but we’ve also seen fewer AAA game Mac ports in general lately.
Many indies still support the Mac, however, and with the introduction of Macs running CPUs and GPUs that share an architecture with the chips found on iPhones and iPads, Apple has opened the door for iOS and iPadOS games to run natively on newer Macs.
However, our own tests of iOS and iPadOS games on M1-equipped Macs, released last year, showed that things were quite unpredictable, with interface problems and other limitations making the experience below average. As a result, macOS currently feels trapped between the two vast worlds of PC games and iPhone games, without yet fully leaning forward to become the ideal platform for either.
Steam Link allows users to play cutting edge, modern games on a MacBook Air or similar, as long as they have a robust Windows gaming PC on the same local network.