Bleeding-edge, early-adopting Mac gamers who happen to play Elder Scrolls Online definitely need to point their eyeballs at Bethsoft’s latest missive to players, as the studio has announced it won’t be able to directly support the new Macs, which will use custom ARM CPUs. The use of these CPUs, Bethsoft says, requires software rewrites or emulation, which isn’t going to be viable for ESO.
“It is a huge undertaking to port a product as old, large, and complex as ESO to a new CPU, with no certain outcome of success,” ESO’s Matt Firor explains. “Because of these factors, we will not be porting ESO to run on the new ARM-based Macs. ESO will continue to run on Intel-based Macs, and we will support it as long as there is a large enough Mac user base to warrant it. While it will be technically possible to run ESO via x86 emulation on the new Macs, expect a subpar gaming experience that we will not officially support.”
Firor also notes that Mac players can play through Stadia or on PC using their existing accounts, so you’re not actually in danger of losing your accounts – just your access if you upgrade to a new Mac.
Read a letter from Matt Firor, Studio Director, on how we’re changing the way we support #ESO on Macs moving forward.https://t.co/8fnSlUdV51 pic.twitter.com/3XUFnqFQ5s
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline) November 17, 2020
