While the recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) focused heavily on advancements in Apple Intelligence, there were some hidden gems in the macOS Sequoia update that got gamers excited. One such improvement paves the way for Xbox 360 emulation on Macs.

The secret lies in the upgraded Game Porting Toolkit 2, a set of tools Apple offers developers to bring Windows games to the Mac. This new version includes support for AVX 2 emulation, which was previously missing on Apple silicon chips and prevented Xbox 360 emulation from working.

This development has some tech-savvy gamers already up and running with Xbox 360 games on their Macs. Videos (check below) showcasing surprisingly smooth gameplay, even for popular titles like Gears of War 2, have begun circulating online.

It’s important to remember that emulation involves layers of software running on top of each other. As YouTuber Andrew Tsai points out, it’s quite remarkable that anything works at all! To achieve this feat, the Xenia Xbox 360 emulator is running through Rosetta 2, which translates software designed for Intel processors to work on Apple silicon.

Let’s be honest, for those who simply want to play Xbox 360 games, buying a used console is likely the easier option. However, from a technical standpoint, this development is impressive. If you’re curious about the specifics of getting Xbox 360 titles running on your Mac, the video (embedded above) provides a detailed breakdown of the process.

macOS Sequoia is currently in developer beta, with a public beta program scheduled for next month. The official release is expected this fall.