An open-source fan project has demonstrated Call of Duty: Black Ops II running as native ARM64 code on Apple Silicon, using a converter that works from a player’s own Steam installation. The beta project, called bo2-mac, translates the 32-bit Windows executables ahead of time and links them to a hand-built runtime for macOS.
The repository says the converter processes the game’s campaign, Zombies and multiplayer executables. Remill lifts x86 functions into LLVM’s intermediate representation, custom compiler passes transform that representation, and the resulting ARM64 code is linked with replacements for the Windows services the game expects. A custom Direct3D 11 layer renders through Apple’s Metal graphics system.
That architecture distinguishes the project from compatibility layers that translate calls while a game runs. The author says roughly 150,000 functions are converted before launch, with no Wine layer and no just-in-time compiler in the finished application. A small x86 interpreter remains for protected sequences and any code that was not successfully lifted, allowing an unsupported path to run more slowly instead of immediately crashing.
The repository reports that, on one base Apple M1 system with 16GB of memory, the campaign reached 51 to 60 frames per second and progressed through every mission to the credits. Zombies reportedly ran on six maps at 57 to 60 frames per second, while multiplayer against bots ran at 53 to 60 across 11 modes. Those figures are measurements supplied by the developer on one machine, not an independent performance review.
The project also implements local responses for the Demonware services expected by Zombies and multiplayer. That supports offline bot play and local menus; it is not a replacement for the game’s public online service. Keyboard and mouse input and a DualSense controller are supported, according to the documentation.
Copy protection presented an unusual technical problem. The game uses hardware exceptions, debugging traps and code decrypted into memory. Rather than forcing checks to pass, the project runs those small sequences in an interpreter and returns control to translated code. The repository documents other fixes involving floating-point rounding, shader constant layout, audio thread priorities and depth bias for decals.
Distribution is deliberately constrained. The repository contains neither game assets nor translated game code. Users must own the Steam edition, and the converter verifies their executables before building an application locally. Because the resulting app includes converted copyrighted code, the developer says it cannot be shared. The project is unofficial and has no affiliation with Activision, Treyarch or Microsoft.
The beta is therefore best understood as a technical demonstration and build system, not a packaged Mac release. Its achievement lies in showing that a complex 32-bit Windows title can be lifted largely ahead of time, connected to a purpose-built macOS runtime and played at useful speeds on first-generation Apple Silicon.
