TL;DR: Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition: Ultimate Edition finally lands on Mac in 2025, and shockingly, it’s not just “playable” — it’s phenomenal. Apple Silicon finally gets its killer app, and Night City runs gloriously on M1 and M2 machines (sorry, Intel folks). Between its fully realized dystopian future, its noir-inspired storytelling, and the surreal joy of sharing headspace with Keanu Reeves, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition on Mac is a must-play. Expensive? Yep. Demanding? Sure. But it also might be the best RPG you can play on a Mac right now.

Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition on Mac: Keanu, Chrome, and Long-Overdue Redemption

I never expected my MacBook Pro to become the conduit for one of the most surreal, stylish, and emotionally loaded gaming experiences I’ve had in the last decade. And yet, in 2025, here I am: watching my character V light up the streets of Night City in retina-popping neon while Keanu Reeves growls revolutionary slogans in my skull.

Let’s back up.

Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t new. In fact, its original release in 2020 felt like the definition of an overhyped disaster. Promised as the next evolution of RPG storytelling and open-world design, it shipped in a state so broken on consoles that even PS2 games started looking pretty robust in comparison. But CD Projekt Red did the unthinkable: they didn’t abandon it. Over the next three years, they patched, rebuilt, apologized, restructured, and finally delivered Phantom Liberty — a moody, brutal, Idris Elba-infused DLC that helped redefine what Cyberpunk actually was.

And now, five years post-launch, it’s landed on Mac. Not just as a weird side project or a janky port, but as a native Apple Silicon showcase. It’s the kind of surreal, full-circle moment you rarely get in tech — the game that was once synonymous with instability now becoming a poster child for Mac gaming’s maturation.

Getting Started on Mac: The Details Matter

Let’s get into the weeds, because the setup process on macOS actually surprised me with how polished and optimized it feels. First thing’s first — if you haven’t already updated to macOS Sequoia (15.5), go do that now. Seriously. The game won’t even launch without it.

Once you’re in, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition defaults to a Quick Preset called “For this Mac.” That might sound generic, but it’s actually very smart — the game dynamically adjusts resolution and performance settings based on your specific hardware. You’ll find this under Settings > Graphics > Quick Preset, or you can hit the Defaults button to reset it.

This preset is different for every Mac and is Apple Silicon’s way of saying, “Don’t worry, we got this.” It even tweaks screen resolution on internal or external monitors for optimal frame rates. It’s the ideal baseline, and I stuck with it for most of my playthrough.

If you want to compare performance with a Windows PC, you can flip over to the standard presets: Low, Medium, High, Ultra (non-ray traced), or the more GPU-taxing Ray Tracing: Low, Medium, Ultra. The boldest — and most punishing — is Ray Tracing: Overdrive, which enables full path tracing.

Here’s how things shook out for me:

• On an M3 Pro: RT Medium felt like the sweet spot.
• M4: RT Low was a better match unless I wanted my Mac to spontaneously combust.
• M4 Pro and Max: RT Medium and RT Ultra were glorious, especially at 1080p.
• If you’ve somehow got an M3 Ultra or M4 Max, go wild with RT Ultra or even Overdrive. Just… maybe keep your power adapter handy.

HDR is another cherry on top. On my MacBook Pro with an XDR display, HDR was on by default and looked phenomenal — no weird calibrations, no guessing games. Just glorious, contrast-rich visuals that made Night City’s neon drip off the screen.

Spatial Audio and Head Tracking: Welcome to Sonic Cyberpunk

Now, let’s talk audio. Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition on Mac supports Head Tracked Spatial Audio with AirPods — and this is the first time I’ve actually found the feature to be more than just a tech demo.

It’s subtle, but real: standing in Japantown’s Cherry Blossom Market, you can hear sizzling food, idle chatter, and the thump of distant bass. Turn your head slightly, and the sound shifts with you. It’s cinematic in a way headphones rarely are. Stealth missions become eerie symphonies of footfalls and whispered curses. And in firefights? That sonic awareness gives you an actual tactical edge.

If you want to fine-tune it, go to Settings > Audio > Misc > Head Tracking. It defaults to on with AirPods, and you can enhance it even more with Personalized Spatial Audio if you’ve got an iPhone with Face ID.

Bottom line: Night City doesn’t just look alive. It sounds alive. And this is one of the few times where I’d argue it’s worth putting on your nicest headphones and just exploring the city by ear.

Why This Mac Port Matters (and Why It’s Good)

Let’s be honest — Mac gamers haven’t always had it easy. For years, we’ve watched major releases bypass macOS entirely, or arrive long after the cultural moment has passed. But things are changing. With Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit and a noticeable shift in how developers approach Apple Silicon, the tides are beginning to turn. Sure, there are caveats — like the need for 16GB of RAM, a recent chip, and yes, the occasional premium price — but the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 runs natively and beautifully on Mac is nothing short of a watershed moment.

And yet, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition feels like a true pivot point. It runs smoothly on M1s, screams on M2s, and with macOS 15.5 as a baseline, finally shows what Apple Silicon Macs can do with a modern graphics engine. On my M2 Pro MacBook Pro, I was pulling a consistent 40fps at 1920×1200 with medium-high settings. No fan noise, no weird crashing, no pixelated faces doing the Harlem Shake.

The port feels considered. It isn’t just playable — it’s delightful. And that makes the experience of Night City even more intoxicating.

Welcome to Night City, Population: Everyone You Don’t Trust

Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition’s setting is its biggest triumph. Night City isn’t just a backdrop — it’s the main character. It pulses. It breathes. It oozes neon, grime, and late-stage capitalism. It’s a place where chrome-plated dreams go to die, and where you, as V, get caught between corporate conspiracies, street-level power plays, and metaphysical horror in the form of a digitized Keanu Reeves.

Reeves’ performance as Johnny Silverhand is one of those weird, perfect bits of casting. Equal parts rockstar burnout and militant anti-corp ghost, Johnny doesn’t just tag along for the ride — he hijacks it. You might start Cyberpunk thinking you’re building your own future. But very quickly, it becomes a story about identity theft at a cosmic scale.

Every corner of the city is dripping with lore. From the affluent, Corpo-ruled towers of City Center to the gang-controlled back alleys of Watson and the anarchic sprawl of Pacifica, you’re never more than a few steps away from a story worth chasing. And it’s in these moments — the side gigs, the small betrayals, the whispered rumors in diners at 3AM — that Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition truly thrives.

The RPG Bones Beneath the Chrome

Don’t let the gunplay and flashy cars fool you — at its heart, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition is an RPG lover’s RPG. The real meat is in the numbers, the skill trees, the cybernetic tinkering, and the narrative flexibility that comes from building your own version of V. You start by choosing a lifepath: Corpo, Nomad, or Streetkid. It’s mostly flavor text up front, sure, but it adds meaningful texture later when certain dialogue options only unlock because of where you came from.

And then there’s the customization. I spent the better part of an hour just on character creation, only to restart twice because I couldn’t resist trying different builds. Intelligence-focused netrunner? Bullet-dodging reflex king? Berserker tank with gorilla arms? You can go in any direction — but not all directions. This game punishes indecision in the best possible way. Every perk point, every cyberware install, every upgrade is a small commitment to a vision of who you want V to become.

But what keeps you coming back is how the game responds. Choices echo. People remember. Dialogue trees branch in subtle, often surprising ways. It’s the kind of RPG that rewards curiosity and punishes apathy. You don’t just play V. You become V.

Phantom Liberty: The DLC That Redefines It All

And then comes Phantom Liberty. If Cyberpunk 2077 is the stage, Phantom Liberty is the opera performed under a blood-red moon. It’s more than just DLC — it’s an entirely different flavor of narrative experience, gritty in ways the main story sometimes dances around.

Dogtown, the new area introduced in the expansion, feels like Night City’s meaner, nastier cousin. It’s a walled-off militarized zone, dripping with betrayal, gunmetal politics, and a constant sense of danger. And into this chaos steps Idris Elba as Solomon Reed — a character who might be the most morally grey spymaster I’ve ever encountered in a video game. His presence alone elevates every scene, grounding the game’s futuristic absurdity in something almost Shakespearean.

If you’re coming in fresh with the Ultimate Edition on Mac, this is not just a bonus. It’s the real anchor. The expansion isn’t tacked-on content — it’s essential. And the fact that it runs beautifully on Mac, even in Dogtown’s denser firefights and branching finales, is a testament to just how far CDPR has come in optimization.

Final Thoughts: Five Years Later, It Finally Feels Whole

So, here we are. Half a decade after its infamously botched release, Cyberpunk 2077 finally feels like the game it was always meant to be. And on Mac, of all places, it isn’t just a late port — it’s a statement. That Apple’s hardware can now host complex, modern, graphically demanding RPGs is a paradigm shift in itself. But that this game in particular was chosen as the vanguard? That feels like poetic justice.

Night City’s skyline has never looked better. The combat’s never felt tighter. The characters — even the morally murky ones — have never been more human. And through it all, your Mac just… handles it. It’s weirdly empowering.

Sure, it’s still pricey. You’re going to want at least 16GB of RAM, and if you’re on an M4 chip, that’s where things truly shine. But what you get is more than just a game. It’s a full-blown digital fever dream wrapped in high-gloss rebellion, shimmering neon, and philosophical dread.

What’s more, CD Projekt Red has made the transition to macOS refreshingly generous — if you already own Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam, GOG, or the Epic Games Store, you won’t have to repurchase it to play on Mac. Just download and dive in. And if you’re coming in fresh via the Mac App Store, you’ll automatically get the full Ultimate Edition, including the Phantom Liberty expansion, right out of the box.

Whether you’re hacking cameras in Dogtown, listening to propaganda bounce between skyscrapers in City Center, or simply watching the rain distort the skyline as you sit on your bike and ignore another quest prompt — this is what the future was supposed to feel like.

Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition isn’t a game anymore. It’s a world. And on Mac, that world finally runs like it should.