Rumors, while sometimes not panning out, are so exciting. You can have
a hundred great Mac games at your disposal, but nothing beats the buzz of a good rumor. Mac gaming is no stranger to that; despite its reputation as a lesser gaming platform behind Windows, it too has its fair share of highly-anticipated games that could or could not happen. In fact, the quantity of rumored Mac games has never been bigger than in 2015. With that in mind,
MacNN is going delve into the rumors and separate facts from wishful thinking.
The year was full of amazing releases for Mac gamers, yet that didn't stop rumors based on leaks, gossip, or corporate mistakes (my favorite) from gaining traction. Virtually every month a new rumor took the spotlight, making it hard to separate facts from fiction. Let's take a look at the current crop of the hottest Mac gaming rumors and see if we can put any solid information behind them.
Saints Row 2 and 3
The
Saints Row franchise is all about open-world action, a lot like
Grand Theft Auto. Both games are solid, but they are especially appealing because Mac gaming is in great need of quality open-world games. And as
Grand Theft Auto 5 isn't coming anytime soon,
Saints Row games are the next best thing.
Saints Row 2 and
Saints Row: The Third are the latest rumors to hit the Mac gaming scene. As most rumors listed here, they were uncovered thanks to leaks found in Steam's Database.
As the Steam database is visible, we can track all changes developers implement on their games. Most of the times, the changes are minimal -- sometimes, however, these changes can reveal a confidential Mac port in the works. There's even a website dedicated to tracking these changes, called
SteamDB. Needless to say, SteamDB is responsible of many, many leaks.
Medieval 2: Total War
Medieval 2: Total War is one of the earlier
Total War strategy games and introduced many of the core mechanics the franchise is known for. When it comes to the Mac, the
Total War franchise is well represented, thanks to Feral Interactive's efforts. Plus, developer Creative Assembly now handles its ports in-house, securing quicker Mac releases. Still, some classics are still missing on the Mac, and
Medieval 2 is the best example. The game is still unconfirmed, but the chances it will come are extremely high.
It all started when Feral Interactive tweeted their 5,000th tweet: "To celebrate, we'll be totally evil and tease yet another upcoming Mac & Linux game. Right here in this tweet." Gamers quickly pointed out that "totally evil" may be an allusion to "Total War Medieval." Soon after, a SteamDB leak pointed to a Mac version of the game in the works. You can consider this leak as a 99 percent certainty.
Titanfall
Titanfall was promoted as the rebirth of modern first-person shooters. And in many ways, with its mechs and vertical gameplay, it achieved just that. The game is getting old now, but it could be the best first-person shooter on the platform, easily. The first rumors that involved a Mac version of the game happened shortly after the game was released.
Playstation gamers were enraged because the game would be Windows-exclusive, giving the Xbox One a big point versus the PS4. Suddenly, out of the blue, one of Respawn Interactive's heads mentioned a Mac version. In fact, he even mentioned that Aspyr was working on the Mac port (the tweet was deleted soon after). Aspyr never confirmed nor denied it, but as months continue to pass, there's a chance the project was shelved. Will
Titanfall ever make it to the Mac? Only time will tell.
Dark Souls
Dark Souls is an action role-playing game from developer FromSoftware. Many consider it the spiritual successor to
Demon Souls, but the game is mostly known for its difficulty. Again,
Dark Souls's Mac version was also revealed because of a SteamDB leak -- although this time, the clues were much more subtle. A gamer spotted a package called "jetpackinteractive", and it turns out, that's the name of a new development studio. Gamers later noticed that the studio promotes itself as an "Apple Developer," too. When you combine that with the fact that Steam only works on desktop/notebook platforms, the Mac is the only option.
Evolve
Evolve comes from the same developer behind the famous
Left 4 Dead series, and that makes it very exciting. The game promised to take that same cooperative FPS formula, and make it even better. The problem was that
Evolve had to face ridiculously high expectations. Some were disappointed when it came out, but the Windows version is doing just fine -- and getting another high-caliber FPS on Mac would be great.
Evolve's Mac rumors started with a SteamDB leak, and then someone spotted an OS X version there, explicitly mentioning the word "Mac." The package was later encrypted -- but instead of killing the rumors, it confirmed that something was going on. Many gamers also claim that
Evolve is "Depth Charge" in Feral's infamous radar.
Arma 3
Arma 3 is the latest first-person shooter from Bohemia Interactive. Many dream of testing this demanding game on their Mac Pros, and it looks like that dream is becoming a reality.
Arma 3's Mac version was a fascinating story to follow. It was initially a leak coming from Steam DB, but when it got noticed that an OS X version on the works, developer Bohemia quickly denied it.
The leak gained momentum when porting company Virtual Programming got involved. At that point, Bohemia owned up to the existence of an "experimental" Mac port. The Mac port was later released as a beta, but Bohemia continues to warn gamers that it could be canceled at any moment.
Thief
Set in a steampunk fantasy world,
Thief is a first-person game that puts you in the shoes of a master thief. This game isn't about killing your enemies though -- instead, it encourages you to sneak and avoid them. Many call it a "first-person sneaker" to emphasize the difference with traditional first-person shooters. Gamers bet that Feral Interactive is behind the
Thief port. According to
Inside Mac Games forums,
Thief is none other than "Bankrobber" on Feral's radar. There are more successful stealth games out there, but the Mac could use a game like
Thief to improve in that department.
Killing Floor 2
Killing Floor 2 is a first-person shooter developed by Tripwire Interactive. The game can be played solo, or with friends, and takes place in a world overrun by a zombie outbreak. A Mac version was never on the table, until Tripwire later announced a Linux port. How can you port a game to Linux and not the Mac (the Mac platform is exponentially bigger in terms of potential sales)? With no news regarding a potential Mac port, we asked Tripwire directly, who replied that they will look at Mac version in the future, but they weren't actively working on it. Disappointing, but at least the chance is still alive.
The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 is the latest role-playing game from CD Projekt Red, and probably the most exciting game in this list. Why? Because it's more than "30 times larger" than previous Witcher games, and critics agree it could be game the year. That said, if you scour the net, you will notice that there's no information regarding a Mac version of the game.
Why included it here then? When CD Projekt Red first announced the game, it mentioned Windows, Mac and Linux versions. The Linux version was mentioned here and there, but not the Mac. If you're going to work on a Linux version, it makes sense to tackle the Mac too. Plus, Virtual Programming did both
The Witcher and
The Witcher 2 for Mac, making
The Witcher 3 possible.
Excited to play one of these? Let us know in the comments section.
-- Ric Molina,
MacGamerHQ.com
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