Gaming · Developer

Ferrum

Windows games on a Mac, without Rosetta.

macOSmacOS Ships inside Bourbon 26 Coming soon

Real capture · Apple M5 Hollow Knight's King's Pass, rendered by Ferrum through DXVK and Metal during a scripted test run.

Overview

Ferrum is PyroSoft's native macOS x86-64 translation layer for Windows games on Apple Silicon. Built on FEX, it turns a game's Intel instructions into ARM64 as the game runs, answers its Windows requests through Wine, and hands its graphics to Metal through DXVK and MoltenVK: no Rosetta, no virtual machine and no Windows licence.

It exists because Apple is retiring Rosetta, which almost every Windows-on-Mac setup depends on, Bourbon's current Windows path included. Ferrum replaces the layer underneath with a native ARM64 host and FEX only where x86-64 code needs translating, while Smart Play, the Bottle Shelf and the rest of Bourbon stay as they are.

Ferrum is still in development. It boots a real game, renders its menus through DXVK and presents frames in a real macOS window, but no game has been played end to end by a person yet. There is no public build and no ship date; when it lands, it ships inside Bourbon 26 with nothing extra to buy. The public repository holds documentation only.

Highlights

x86-64 game code translated to ARM64 as it runs, built on FEX-Emu
Windows requests answered by Wine: no Windows licence, no virtual machine
DirectX to Vulkan via DXVK and vkd3d-proton, then to Metal via MoltenVK
A real macOS window and Vulkan swapchain; audio through CoreAudio
Handles the XGETBV instruction Rosetta 2 rejects (CPUID, XGETBV, XSAVE)
Isolated runtime: no Homebrew, PATH lookups or other Wine installs
Will ship inside Bourbon 26, with nothing extra to buy

Ferrum development journal

All 19 entries

Live19 entries so farUpdated Oct 20, 2026New (19 entries updated in the last 14 days)

Details

Platforms: macOS
Built with: FEX-Emu, Wine, DXVK, vkd3d-proton, MoltenVK and Metal
Credits: Built on FEX-Emu (Ryan Houdek and contributors), Wine, DXVK and MoltenVK
License: Proprietary (Ferrum Commercial License)
Status: In development
Requirements: Apple Silicon (M-series) Mac

Questions

Will my games work?

Not yet. Ferrum can create a Direct3D 11 device and put a rendered frame in a real Mac window, but no full game has been driven from launch to gameplay by a person. For playing Windows games today, use Bourbon 26.

Do I need a Windows licence?

No. Ferrum never runs Windows. The Windows interfaces come from Wine, which reimplements them without Microsoft code.

Isn't this what Rosetta does?

Rosetta translates Intel Mac apps and knows nothing about Windows. Most Windows-on-Mac setups use it as one layer in a taller stack, which is the problem, because Apple is retiring it. Ferrum replaces that layer.

Which Macs?

Apple Silicon only (M-series). Intel Macs don't need it.

What about anti-cheat?

Kernel-level anti-cheat won't work under any translation layer. User-mode Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye can, where a publisher has enabled it; that is on the roadmap, not working yet.

How do I get it?

Ferrum will ship as an integrated part of Bourbon 26, with nothing extra to buy or sign. For use outside Bourbon, ask about commercial licensing at contact@mikethetech.com.