Laptops like the MacBook Pro 13 (2022) are not designed for gamers. While the Mac in general has been able to play games over the years, it hasn't been one of the primary focuses of Apple. Nor a primary focus for folks buying any of today's best Macs.But none of this necessarily means that you can't use a MacBook Pro for gaming. The move to Apple Silicon has complicated matters in some regards, though. How much mileage you get will also depend on where you get your games from. The M2 can do a lot, but sometimes it's just not enough.

Steam games on the MacBook Pro 13 (2022)

Front view of the MacBook Pro 13 display

Steam is the biggest games store on the planet and does support Mac. There are also games within Steam that support ARM, though with the M2 you're limited to 64-bit. Rosetta 2 also comes into play, allowing Steam games compiled for x86 to work on the Apple Silicon Macs.

What you won't get is a 100% simple solution to playing all the Mac-compatible games. Some will work, some won't. That's where the community comes into play. There are compiled wikis and Steam curator pages that can help you figure out how well if at all, your favorite games will play. These resources are definitely worth a bookmark if you're looking to game on your MacBook Pro 13.

Mac App Store games

The best bet for supported games is through the Mac App Store and its Apple Arcade section. Here you'll find titles ready to go and a subscription with a decent library. It's also possible for iOS developers to port their games to Apple Silicon, so you'll find some of these lighter titles here, too.

The late-2022 release of macOS Ventura also brought Metal 3 graphics improvements to Apple Silicon, notably including MetalFX Upscaling, hardware acceleration, and more. This has allowed prominent titles like Resident Evil Village, No Man's Sky, and GRID Legends to hit the Mac App Store, though we're still waiting on the latter two games to officially release on the platform.

Cloud gaming

MacBook Pro 13 (2022)

The beauty of cloud gaming is that the spec of your laptop doesn't really matter. If it can decode the incoming stream, you can play games. The MacBook Pro 13 (2022) enjoys access to all the major cloud platforms and the stellar libraries they bring with them.

NVIDIA GeForce Now has a native client for the Mac with support for Apple Silicon. For gamers with big Steam libraries, this might be the best way to play them on a Mac. With the added bonus of being able to access Windows-only games. Google Stadia streaming was a possibility, but it has now shut down. That still leaves others like Xbox Cloud Gaming for which all you need is a browser. And The Xbox service does support Safari on macOS.


Ultimately, if gaming is a high priority for you, a Mac probably isn't your best bet. You should look for one of the best gaming laptops where there are fewer compromises.

However, if you're looking for a Mac for professional or creative purposes and would like to do a spot of gaming on the side, the MacBook Pro 13 (2022) is a solid bet. You might encounter some frustrations with Steam, but the Mac App Store has some great titles with more on the way, and the cloud can certainly take care of the rest.

Buying a refurbished MacBook Pro at Apple means you can easily find the more recent models in various configurations with Apple-certified quality. You also get a one year warranty and free returns if necessary.
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (2022)

The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with Apple's M2 processor, promising up to 39% more performance in games and image processing compared to the M1 model while delivering long-lasting battery life. You'll have a smoother overall experience with a Windows PC for gaming, but the MacBook Pro can still hold its own if you'd like to have a little fun.