Guides / DLSS and frame generation
DLSS and frame generation on a Mac: what MetalFX can and can’t do
DLSS itself can’t run on a Mac: it’s NVIDIA technology for GeForce RTX graphics cards, and Apple Silicon Macs don’t have one. Macs have Apple’s MetalFX instead, which does upscaling and, since macOS 26, frame interpolation. Under Apple’s D3DMetal, a Windows game can ask for DLSS and get MetalFX upscaling instead. Bridgeplay adds its own frame generation on top, which is experimental and off by default.
What DLSS is
NVIDIA describes DLSS as “a suite of neural rendering technologies that uses AI to boost FPS” [1]. It runs on GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40 and 50 Series cards, and not every part runs on every series: Frame Generation needs an RTX 40 or 50 card, and Multi Frame Generation, which can generate up to five frames for each rendered one, needs an RTX 50 card [1]. An Apple Silicon Mac uses Apple’s own GPU, so no tool can run the real DLSS on it.
What MetalFX can do
MetalFX is Apple’s framework for “upscaling lower-resolution content to save GPU time” [2]. It has four effects, added in different macOS versions:
| MetalFX effect | What it does | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial scaler | Makes a higher-resolution image “by spatially analyzing an input texture”, one frame at a time [3] | 13 and later [3] |
| Temporal scaler | Makes a higher-resolution image “by analyzing multiple input textures over time” [4] | 13 and later [4] |
| Temporal denoised scaler | Temporal upscaling with denoising | 26 and later [5] |
| Frame interpolator | Generates frames between rendered ones | 26 and later [6] |
Frame interpolation is new in macOS 26 Tahoe, which is also the oldest macOS Bridgeplay runs on. See macOS version requirements for why.
How a DLSS request becomes MetalFX
A Windows game only offers DLSS when it thinks it’s running on an NVIDIA card. In Bridgeplay, games on D3DMetal see an NVIDIA card by default, so the DLSS option shows up in their menus, and Apple’s toolkit runs it on MetalFX [7]. Bridgeplay routes the game’s NVIDIA calls (NVAPI and NGX) to Apple’s components for this [7]. CodeWeavers’ CrossOver has a similar switch, “Enable DLSS powered by MetalFX”, which takes effect when DLSS is turned on in the game and works with D3DMetal and DXMT [8].
The image quality comes from MetalFX, not NVIDIA’s models, so the result won’t match what the same setting looks like on an RTX card. The game still renders fewer pixels and MetalFX fills in the rest, and that is where the frame-rate gain comes from.
DLSS Frame Generation through MetalFX frame interpolation is a separate, experimental option in Bridgeplay and off by default. Bridgeplay’s notes link a report of MetalFX frame interpolation with D3DMetal hanging WindowServer on an M5 Mac [9].
Bridgeplay’s own frame generation
Separate from DLSS, Bridgeplay has an experimental frame generator that runs inside the game process. It shows up to 3× the frames the game renders, with a little added latency, and it’s off until you turn it on for a game [7]. The settings are in Steam: right-click the game, choose Properties… and open the Bridgeplay tab [7]. Bridgeplay’s per-game settings reference lists these options:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Frame generation | Off (default), 2×, 3×, or adaptive, which fills frames up to the display’s refresh rate [9] |
| Engine | Bridgeplay’s built-in optical flow (default) or MetalFX frame interpolation [9] |
| Quality | Performance, balanced (default) or quality [9] |
| Protect UI | On by default; keeps static HUD and menus sharp [9] |
| Fast-motion fallback | On by default; skips generated frames that would smear [9] |
Frame generation in Bridgeplay is experimental. It may cause glitches or not work in some games. Leave it off if a game behaves badly with it on.
The trade-offs
- Latency: a generated frame doesn’t come from your input, so the game doesn’t respond any faster when the frame counter goes up. Bridgeplay’s generator adds up to half a frame of latency [9]. NVIDIA pairs its own Frame Generation with NVIDIA Reflex to keep the game responsive [1].
- Artifacts: generated frames are guesses, so fast motion or on-screen text can smear. Bridgeplay’s Protect UI and fast-motion fallback options try to limit this [9].
- Base frame rate: frame generation multiplies what the game already renders, so it works best when the game already runs smoothly and you want motion to look smoother on a high-refresh display.
- Vsync and tearing: some games force vsync off when frame generation is on and tear above the display’s refresh rate. Bridgeplay has a per-game setting that forces vsync for those; its notes name Resident Evil Requiem as one example [9].
The compatibility list shows which games testers ran with MetalFX upscaling or frame generation. Its results are player and test reports and aren’t guarantees. The DirectX 12 guide explains D3DMetal and the other graphics layers, and the FAQ covers requirements.
Sources
- NVIDIA: DLSS (checked 29 October 2026)
- Apple Developer Documentation: MetalFX (checked 29 October 2026)
- Apple Developer Documentation: MTLFXSpatialScaler (checked 29 October 2026)
- Apple Developer Documentation: MTLFXTemporalScaler (checked 29 October 2026)
- Apple Developer Documentation: MTLFXTemporalDenoisedScaler (checked 29 October 2026)
- Apple Developer Documentation: MTLFXFrameInterpolator (checked 29 October 2026)
- Bridgeplay: README (checked 29 October 2026)
- CodeWeavers: Advanced Settings in CrossOver Mac 26 (checked 29 October 2026)
- Bridgeplay: per-game fixes and graphics backends (checked 29 October 2026)