Steam has taken a major step toward full Apple Silicon support with its latest beta release for macOS. As of Thursday, testers using Macs with M-series chips can now run both the Steam client and its companion helper app natively, eliminating the need for Rosetta 2 emulation. This shift marks a significant performance upgrade, as Valve prepares to transition Steam into a Universal app that better utilizes the hardware capabilities of Apple’s custom silicon.
According to release notes published Friday, the updated beta allows the Steam app to run directly on Apple Silicon, with no reliance on Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation layer. Rosetta has served as a useful bridge for running Intel-based apps on M1 and M2 machines, but native support offers better speed and energy efficiency. Valve’s move brings Steam in line with a growing number of macOS applications that have already embraced native Apple Silicon performance.
Early feedback from beta testers has been largely positive. Users report that the native version of Steam for Mac launches noticeably faster and offers smoother navigation across core sections like the Library, Store, and Community tabs. Since the Steam client uses Chromium for its interface—a platform not known for its efficiency—the performance gains are particularly welcome. While the stable release still runs under Rosetta 2, Valve is expected to bring the native version to all users in an upcoming update.
Apple first introduced its M1-powered Macs in late 2020, prompting a wave of developers to optimize their software for the new architecture. In the years since, many popular apps have transitioned to Universal binaries that run seamlessly on both Intel and Apple Silicon machines. Valve’s move to join that list underscores the growing importance of native optimization, especially for power users and gamers who demand faster, more responsive software on modern Macs.
