How to Enable Game Mode on macOS 13

This guide explains the availability of Apple's Game Mode in macOS 13 Ventura and details the best methods to optimize system performance for gaming. While dedicated Game Mode is an exclusive feature of newer macOS releases, users on macOS 13 can still utilize specific settings, system tweaks, and built-in tools to replicate its benefits, including minimizing background activity, reducing latency, and prioritizing hardware resources.

Game Mode Availability in macOS 13

Apple officially introduced Game Mode in macOS 14 Sonoma, which means macOS 13 Ventura does not include the automated, system-level Game Mode toggle. On macOS Sonoma and later, Game Mode turns on automatically whenever a game is launched in full-screen mode on Apple Silicon Macs.

If your Mac supports it, the most direct way to get Game Mode is to upgrade your operating system:

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Click General in the sidebar.
  3. Select Software Update and install macOS 14 Sonoma (or a newer release).

Replicating Game Mode Features in macOS 13 Ventura

If your Mac cannot update past macOS 13, you can manually configure macOS Ventura to achieve the performance and distraction-free benefits of Game Mode.

1. Prioritize Resources with Full-Screen Mode

macOS prioritizes graphical and processing resources to the active foreground application. Always run games in dedicated full-screen mode rather than windowed or borderless windowed mode. Click the green maximize button in the top-left corner of the game window or select "Full Screen" in the game’s display settings.

2. Create a Custom Gaming Focus Mode

Game Mode automatically silences notifications. You can replicate this on macOS 13 using Focus:

  1. Go to System Settings > Focus.
  2. Click Add Focus and choose Custom (name it "Gaming").
  3. Set Allowed Notifications to silence all alerts, calls, and messages.
  4. Under Set a Schedule, choose Add Schedule > App, and select your installed games so the focus activates automatically upon launch.

3. Disable Low Power Mode and Adjust Energy Settings

Ensure your Mac utilizes maximum hardware performance while gaming:

  1. Go to System Settings > Battery (or Energy Saver on desktop Macs).
  2. Set Low Power Mode to Never or Only on Battery.
  3. On supported 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M-series Max chips, set energy mode to High Power to maximize GPU performance.

4. Close Background Applications and Processes

Game Mode deprioritizes background tasks to ensure maximum CPU and GPU access for the game. On macOS 13, manage this manually:

  1. Press Command + Option + Escape to open the Force Quit menu and close heavy background software (browsers, video editors, cloud sync clients).
  2. Open Activity Monitor (via Spotlight or Applications > Utilities) to identify and quit any background processes consuming significant CPU or memory.

5. Leverage MetalFX Upscaling

If a game supports Metal 3 on macOS 13, look for MetalFX Upscaling within the game's graphics settings. Enabling MetalFX provides higher frame rates and lower latency by rendering frames at a lower resolution and upscaling them using Apple Silicon machine learning cores.