TL;DR
A GitHub project published as a Show HN submission describes a way to build Call of Duty: Black Ops II as a native ARM64 macOS app from a player’s own Steam installation. Its author reports playable campaign, solo Zombies and multiplayer against bots on one Apple M1, but the project is a beta and has not established broad compatibility or full testing across missions and Mac models.
A fan developer has released a beta project that converts a player’s own Steam copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II into a native ARM64 macOS app, with campaign, solo Zombies and multiplayer against bots demonstrated on an Apple M1. The project, posted on GitHub and submitted to Show HN, could offer an alternative to running the 2012 Windows game through compatibility software or a virtual machine, but its reported results come from one Mac and its author says not all campaign missions have been played through.
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The repository’s author says the tool translates the game’s three Windows executables—campaign, Zombies and multiplayer—from 32-bit x86 machine code into ARM64 before launch. The pipeline uses Ghidra to catalogue functions, Remill to lift them into LLVM intermediate representation, custom passes to optimize the translated code, and a hand-written Win32 runtime. The runtime handles the game’s Windows calls, while Direct3D 11 graphics are rendered through Metal. The author says the game runs in one process without Wine or a just-in-time compiler.
According to the project’s measurements on a base Apple M1 with 16 GB of memory, campaign gameplay ran at 51–60 frames per second, Zombies at 57–60 fps (43–58 on Die Rise), and multiplayer against bots at 53–60 fps. The tests included campaign missions loading and advancing to the end credits, solo play on six Zombies maps through the game menus, and bot matches across 11 multiplayer modes. The author says the tests were recorded during play and that screen recording reduced performance, particularly in the campaign.
Players must own the game on Steam and build the app locally. The converter checks for an exact supported executable build and verifies ownership through the Steam client, the repository says. Conversion took about one hour and 45 minutes on the tested M1, with a peak disk requirement of roughly 10 GB and about 4 GB retained afterward. The project says it does not distribute game files or translated game code, and warns that the resulting app should not be shared.
A New Route to Mac Gameplay
The project matters to Mac users because it attempts to run a Windows game as native ARM64 code, rather than relying on a Windows environment or translating instructions at runtime. The repository describes the game as unsupported under Rosetta 2 and unplayable through CrossOver, while citing reports of widely varying performance in Windows ARM virtual machines. Those comparisons are the project author’s account of existing options, not independent benchmark results.
If the approach works beyond the developer’s test setup, it could show how ahead-of-time recompilation can make older PC games usable on Apple Silicon where ordinary compatibility layers fall short. The project also says a split-screen feature is in progress, which would add a mode the PC release did not include. That work is not described as complete, and the present results do not establish support across other Macs, operating system versions or game builds.
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How the Recompilation Works
Black Ops II was released for Windows and other platforms, but the repository says it never received a Mac version. Its approach is not a conventional port: instead of rewriting the game’s source code, the tool processes the original executable files and generates ARM64 code before the game starts. The author reports that about 150,000 functions are translated across the three executables.
The project says a small x86 interpreter handles short sequences associated with copy protection and code the translator misses. Its stated design goal is for such gaps to reduce speed rather than crash the game. The build is restricted to a specific Steam release, checked byte for byte, so owners of other versions may not be able to use it. The project is labeled beta and describes itself as an unofficial fan effort, not affiliated with Activision, Treyarch or Microsoft.
““The game is translated once, before it starts, into a native ARM64 app.””
— The GitHub project’s author
Compatibility Still Has Limits
The available performance figures are the developer’s measurements on one M1 Mac, not independent tests or results across the Apple Silicon lineup. The project says every campaign mission loads and transitions through to the end credits, but also states that not all missions have been played from start to finish. That means the reported progression does not establish that the whole campaign is free of gameplay or stability issues.
It is also unclear how reliably the build will work on other Mac models, macOS releases, Steam accounts or versions of the game. The repository’s exact-build checks mean compatibility is limited by design, and the tool’s beta status leaves open whether additional translation gaps or other faults will appear. The multiplayer demonstration is against bots; the supplied information does not establish support for online play against other people. The project does not provide independent verification of its speed claims.
Testing and Split-Screen Development
The project’s next stated development goal is split-screen play, which its author says is in progress. The repository does not give a release date or describe the feature as ready. For now, prospective users can review the project’s build instructions and limits, then use their own eligible Steam installation to create the app on a supported Mac.
Further testing would clarify how the tool performs across different Apple Silicon systems, whether more campaign sections and game configurations work reliably, and whether the beta can support additional game builds. Until such results are published, the M1 figures and demonstrated modes should be treated as project-reported results, not a general compatibility guarantee.
Key Questions
Does the project include a copy of Black Ops II?
No. The repository says it contains no game files or translated game code. Users need their own Steam copy, and the app is built locally from that installation.
Which parts of the game were demonstrated?
The author reports campaign gameplay, solo Zombies on six maps, and multiplayer against bots across 11 modes. The supplied results do not establish online matches against other players.
How fast did it run?
On one base M1 Mac, the project reports 51–60 fps in the campaign, 57–60 fps in Zombies except for 43–58 fps on Die Rise, and 53–60 fps in bot multiplayer. These are developer-reported measurements, not independently verified benchmarks.
Is the full campaign confirmed to work?
The author says every mission loads and advances toward the end credits, but also says not all missions were played from start to finish. Complete, issue-free campaign compatibility has not been established.
Is this an official Mac release?
No. The repository identifies the software as an unofficial fan project and says it is not affiliated with Activision, Treyarch or Microsoft.
Source: github.com
