Press kit
The facts, the words and the logo files for writing about Malbec. Questions go to press@malbec.app.
Fact sheet
- Name
- Malbec
- What it is
- An app that runs Windows games on Macs with Apple silicon
- Price
- $12.99, once. No subscription.
- Trial
- Free for 7 days. The trial starts when you choose (Start Free Trial in the app). One free trial per Mac. No account needed.
- License
- Works on 2 Macs at a time. Needs the internet once per Mac to activate, then works offline. Free updates for as long as we make Malbec
- Sold through
- Stripe’s checkout: Link sells Malbec for us and sends the receipt
- Needs
- A Mac with Apple silicon, macOS 26.5 or later and Rosetta 2
- Stores
- Steam and Battle.net, set up by Malbec. Any Windows game from an installer or a game folder
- Graphics
- DirectX 10 and 11 on Metal, through DXMT. DirectX 12: not yet
- Catalog
- 18 games with settings of their own and a label, next to a list of the games that won’t run, each with its reason
- Engine
- Wine and DXMT, built by us from public sources. The source of every release’s engine is published (GNU LGPL)
- Current version
- Malbec , Not released yet
- Website
- malbec.app
Descriptions
One line
Malbec runs Windows games on Macs with Apple silicon.
Short
Malbec runs Windows games on Apple silicon Macs. It sets up Steam and Battle.net, gives the games in its catalog settings of their own and keeps the shaders your games build between sessions. Each game has a label that says how far we’ve tested it.
Longer
Malbec is a Mac app for playing Windows games. It sets up Steam and Battle.net in their own Windows environments, finds the games you install there, and runs any other Windows game you add from an installer or a game folder.
Games run on Malbec’s own engine, built from Wine and DXMT, which translates DirectX 10 and 11 to Metal in 64-bit and 32-bit games. DirectX 12 isn’t supported yet, and games with kernel anti-cheat don’t run.
Every game carries a label: Tuned, Supported, Preview, Untested, or a reason it won’t run. The labels are the same in the app and on malbec.app, next to a list of the games that won’t run, with the reason and a source.
$12.99, once. Free for 7 days. The trial starts when you choose. One free trial per Mac. No account needed.
What it doesn’t do
- DirectX 12 games. Games that only support DirectX 12 don’t start.
- Games with kernel anti-cheat, such as Valorant or Fortnite. No app runs them under Wine on a Mac.
- Windows apps in general. Malbec is made for games; CrossOver runs Windows software of every kind.
Credits
Malbec’s engine is our own build of Wine, by the Wine project and CodeWeavers, and DXMT, by Feifan He, with open-source patches. Every open-source part and its license is on the licenses page, and every engine’s source on the source page.
Numbers
We publish a frame rate only with the Mac, the test, the settings, at least three runs and the raw data behind it, on the performance page. Please quote numbers from there with its date and Mac.
Logos
The gem and the word, as outlines (SVG) and as pictures with a transparent background (PNG). Keep one gem’s width of space around them. Don’t recolor, stretch or outline them, add effects, or put them on game art.
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Horizontal, for dark backgrounds
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Horizontal, for light backgrounds
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Stacked, for dark backgrounds
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Stacked, for light backgrounds
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The gem
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The gem, one color
The pictures on this site show Malbec’s own interface. Game names and cover art belong to their publishers. For screenshots at full size, write to us.
Write to us
For interviews, screenshots and questions about Malbec, write to press@malbec.app. For help with the app, Support is the faster way.