Bridgeplay FAQ

Bridgeplay is a free, open-source Mac app that runs Windows-only Steam games inside the Mac Steam client. Windows games show up in the library you already use and start with the same Play button. They run on CodeWeavers’ open-source WineCX under Rosetta 2, with Apple’s D3DMetal for graphics. How it works has the full path.

Yes. There is no paid version, subscription or Bridgeplay account; you only need a Steam account for the games. The Apple Game Porting Toolkit files the Setup Assistant downloads are licensed for non-commercial distribution only, and Bridgeplay is non-commercial.

Yes. Bridgeplay is licensed under GPL-3.0 and the source is on GitHub at github.com/raymondchins/Bridgeplay. The Wine engines are LGPL-2.1 or later. Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit is Apple software under Apple’s license, and the repo’s NOTICE file lists every third-party license.

An Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later, including every Pro, Max and Ultra chip) running macOS 26 Tahoe or later, plus a Steam account. The requirements section on the home page can check your Mac in one click, and the macOS version guide has more detail.

No. Bridgeplay needs macOS 26 or later. If your Mac can update to macOS 26, update first. If it can’t, the guide to Windows games on Mac covers the other ways to play.

No. Bridgeplay runs only on Apple Silicon Macs, M1 or later.

Many DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games run, but not every game does. The compatibility list shows every game tested so far and the Mac it ran on, from maintainer checks and player reports, plus CrossOver ratings from AppleGamingWiki for games nobody has tried with Bridgeplay yet. They are reports and don’t guarantee that a game will run for you.

No. Bridgeplay works only with Steam: it runs Windows games you install through the Mac Steam client. GOG Galaxy, the Epic Games Store and other launchers aren’t supported.

About 530 MB, most of it the engine and graphics files the Setup Assistant fetches. Games download from Steam at their usual size. Installing Rosetta 2 and Steam, and signing in to Steam, need an internet connection.

Download Bridgeplay.dmg, which is notarized by Apple, drag Bridgeplay into Applications and open it, then click Open when macOS asks. The Setup Assistant walks you through Rosetta, Apple’s graphics, Steam sign-in and a couple of standard macOS prompts, and it needs an admin account. Then press Play on a Windows game in Steam. The install guide covers each step.

Open Bridgeplay and use Repair Steam or Remove Everything on the Status page. Repair Steam restores Steam’s Info.plist; Remove Everything removes what Bridgeplay has created and restores Steam too. If Valve’s signature isn’t back afterward, reinstall Steam from Valve.

The disk image is notarized by Apple, and every download the Setup Assistant makes is checked against Bridgeplay’s signature. Bridgeplay does modify Steam: it adds a library that Steam loads at startup and re-signs Steam on your Mac, replacing Valve’s signature. Valve doesn’t support or endorse this, and it may go against the Steam Subscriber Agreement, so use it at your own risk. The README lists every change it makes to Steam.

Often not. Games that use Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye or similar systems frequently fail to start, and Bridgeplay can’t promise that anti-cheat, VAC included, won’t flag it. Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 run, but VAC keeps them off its secure servers. Play online at your own risk; the anti-cheat guide has more.

Games on D3DMetal see an NVIDIA graphics card by default, so they offer DLSS, and Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit runs that upscaling on MetalFX. Bridgeplay also has experimental frame generation that shows up to 3× the rendered frames, with a little added latency. It’s off by default and you turn it on per game. See the DLSS and frame generation guide.

Yes. DualSense, Xbox, GameSir and other controllers work with no mapping screen; the first time you use one, allow Steam’s Input Monitoring request. Controller options are per game in Steam under Properties › Bridgeplay. sn0wst0rm’s DualSense Bluetooth bridge and Steam rumble forwarding, which Bridgeplay 0.7.51 and earlier shipped, are paused until NotProton merges the same work.

Bridgeplay is a fork of NotProton by NotProtonNot and its contributors, by way of Leon Seemann’s NotProton-WineHQ. The Steam hooks, the Steam Play interface patches, the run script and the steamclient bridge all started as their work. NotProton is designed to run on CrossOver; Bridgeplay also ships free engines, a Setup Assistant and automatic updates.

Bridgeplay’s main engine is WineCX, the open-source Wine code CodeWeavers publishes from CrossOver, as rebased by dappermint. Bridgeplay doesn’t include CrossOver and isn’t affiliated with CodeWeavers, and if you own CrossOver it can run games on your copy instead. CodeWeavers funds most of Wine’s development on the Mac by selling CrossOver, so if you can, buy it.

Raymond Chin (@raymondchins) in Jakarta maintains it as a part-time hobby project, so support is best-effort. Most of the engine and Steam integration comes from the upstream projects credited on the how it works page, and other contributors are listed on GitHub.

After you close a Windows game, Bridgeplay asks once: How did it run? One tap on Smooth, Has issues or Didn't run sends the result, with your Mac and the game’s log, to the compatibility list. No GitHub account is needed, and the log is stripped of your user, computer and Steam account details. Without the app, use the game report form on GitHub.

Check the troubleshooting guide first. If that doesn’t fix it, open an issue at github.com/raymondchins/Bridgeplay/issues with the game and your Mac model. Support is best-effort.