If Cyberpunk 2077 stutters or delivers low FPS on your Mac, first confirm that your Mac meets the game’s requirements. Then select For This Mac, lower the output resolution if needed, and keep ray tracing off while troubleshooting. Update macOS and the game, restart, and close nonessential apps before trying a reinstall. The right settings depend on your Mac’s chip and memory, so there is no single fix that applies to every model.
Check that your Mac meets the game’s requirements
Open Apple menu → About This Mac and note your chip, memory, and macOS version. Compare them with CD PROJEKT RED’s current Mac system requirements. The published baseline is macOS 15.5 or later; the minimum configuration is M1 with 16 GB of memory, targeting 30 FPS, while the recommended configuration is M3 Pro with 18 GB, targeting 60 FPS. These are target configurations, not guarantees for every scene.
The requirements list higher chip and memory tiers for higher output resolutions and fidelity. The M2 Max or M3 Max with 32 GB tier is listed for high fidelity; M3 Ultra or M4 Max with 36 GB is listed for very high fidelity. Check the requirements page for the resolution attached to your specific tier rather than assuming every configuration supports the same output.
The game must be installed on an SSD; CD PROJEKT RED says HDDs are unsupported. Its listed storage needs differ by storefront: 92 GB for GOG, Epic, or Steam downloads and 159 GB for App Store downloads, plus additional temporary space during installation. These are storage requirements, not evidence that moving an existing installation to an external SSD will raise FPS.
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Set a device-specific baseline
In the game’s graphics settings, select For This Mac. It chooses settings and resolution based on the machine instead of applying one profile to every Mac. Apple’s WWDC26 session says the preset configures target FPS, MetalFX Dynamic Resolution Scaling boundaries, V-Sync, and HDR for each device. It is the best starting point before manual changes.
Test a repeatable section of the game, such as driving through a crowded area, and compare it with a quieter location. Note the displayed FPS and whether the hitching occurs during traversal, combat, or continuously. Also record the game version and storefront, output resolution, and whether ray tracing is enabled; those details help distinguish a settings issue from a broader performance problem.
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Dense city scenes can load both the CPU and GPU. CD PROJEKT RED Associate Game Director Paweł Sasko described crowds, traffic, AI, physics, animation, quests, and interactions as CPU work, while lighting, reflections, volumetrics, and ray tracing add graphics load. Apple’s presentation also describes validation in demanding situations including dense crowds, driving, combat, and screen-space reflections. A slowdown limited to busy scenes may therefore behave differently from consistently low FPS.
Reduce resolution before lowering everything else
If performance is still below your target, reduce the game’s output resolution, particularly when playing on a high-resolution external display. CD PROJEKT RED explains that 5120×2880 contains about four times as many pixels as 2560×1440, so it requires substantially more processing. That does not mean FPS will be exactly four times lower: other parts of the workload affect performance too. The resolution shown in the requirements is the maximum for the stated FPS target, not a minimum needed to run the game.
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Use MetalFX Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS) if it is available in your configuration. DRS renders internally at a lower resolution when needed and upscales the image to the output resolution, trading some image detail for performance headroom. Lowering the output resolution can make the image less sharp; DRS can help preserve the chosen output size, but does not remove that image-quality tradeoff entirely. See CD PROJEKT RED’s explanation of how resolution affects performance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Leave ray tracing off while diagnosing low FPS
The For This Mac preset does not enable ray tracing, even on capable hardware. Keep it off while establishing baseline performance. Ray tracing is an optional, demanding setting with separate chip and memory targets, not a general-purpose fix for stuttering.
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If you specifically want to use it, check the requirements and enable it manually under Settings → Graphics. CD PROJEKT RED’s Mac ray-tracing guidance requires M3 or newer and at least 16 GB of memory. Its examples target 30 FPS on M3 Pro/18 GB and 60 FPS on M3 Max/36 GB, both with medium ray tracing at 1800×1125 or 1920×1080 and MetalFX DRS enabled manually. Those targets apply to the configurations and settings stated, not to other Macs or resolutions.
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Update, restart, and close background apps
- Install available macOS updates and update Cyberpunk 2077 through your storefront. Check the current version rather than expecting a particular patch to improve FPS.
- Restart the Mac, then launch the game again and test the same area.
- Quit apps you do not need while playing. CD PROJEKT RED specifically calls out hardware-monitoring tools, antivirus software, firewalls, and overlays among the apps to close during troubleshooting.
- If problems remain, follow Apple’s steps for when your Mac runs slowly.
- Reinstall the game only after the earlier checks have not helped. If the issue persists, contact CD PROJEKT RED support for Mac performance issues.
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