Mac Source Ports

Developer: id Software
Release Date: December 9, 1997
Source Code Release Date: December 22, 2001

Quake II is a first-person shooter, the second in the Quake series. Yamagi Quake2 is the most mature and advanced port actively being maintained.

And just so the PC gamers don't have all the fun, there is now a port from Night Sight Productions of the Quake II: RTX project to Metal.

  Buy Quake II on GOG.com

  Buy Quake II on the Humble Store

Developer: LucasArts
Release Date: July 10, 1994

From a time when it seemed LucasArts could do no wrong, Star Wars: TIE Fighter is a space simulation game that flips the script on the original Star Wars trilogy, putting you in the role of a TIE Fighter pilot for the Galactic Empire. You must complete a series of missions that involve defending the Empire's interests, hunting down Rebel Alliance targets, and engaging in tense dogfights with enemy ships. The game features a deep and engaging storyline, a variety of ship upgrades and weapons, and detailed graphics and sound effects that bring the Star Wars universe to life. With its challenging gameplay, complex strategy, and innovative features, Star Wars: TIE Fighter is another true classic of the space simulation genre.

  Buy Star Wars: TIE Fighter on GOG.com

  Buy Star Wars: TIE Fighter on the Humble Store

Developer: Cavedog Entertainment
Release Date: September 27, 1997

Total Annihilation is an RTS game with a cult following. Whereas other games in the genre focused on resource scarcity or micromanagement of units, it focused on resource streaming and large scale battles across bigger maps.

The game's designer, Chris Taylor, would go on to make spiritual sequels in the form of Supreme Commander amd Planetary Annihilation.

  Buy Total Annihilation on GOG.com

  Buy Total Annihilation on the Humble Store

Developer: Quetoo Team
Release Date: May 22, 2026

So this is interesting, I just stumbled on this randomly a few weeks back right after it was released, although it was apparently in the works for twenty years.

Quetoo is an open source project that's a combination of id Tech engines and technologies, incorporating every graphics technique the source port communities are known for, and recreating some of the classic maps of the Quake series without actually using any of its data.

The result is a purely community focused freeware arena shooter that can even be edited with modern tools like Trenchboom.
Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Developer: Flying Bear Entertainment
Release Date: August 31, 2001

Insaniquarium is a game where you feed fish. And fight aliens. And feed fish to other fish. And avoid electrocution. By now you either think this game is pointless or endlessly addictive. And if you think that sounds addictive you're not alone, since this game was downloaded 20 million times in five years.

Insaniquarium was later re-released in an enhanced version dubbed Insaniquarium Deluxe, which is the version you can still get off of Steam to this day, and the version that Insaniquarium Portable uses.

Developer: Maxis
Release Date: December 1, 1993

The 90's were a wild time for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that we were obsessed with tacking the number "2000" onto everything. So instead of SimCity 2 we get SimCity 2000. And whereas the original game was something of a loveable mess, SimCity 2000 polished and went much further with the concept and shifted to an isometric view.

The OpenSC2K project, interestingly, is not an attempt to reverse engineer the code so much as it's a playable recreation in Godot. It went dormant for several years and was recently revived.

So get ready to feel like you just came home with the floppies from Babbage's and prepare yourself for a fun city building experience only slightly marred by a frustrating water pipe interface.

Developer: Bungie West
Release Date: 29 January 2001

The last game Bungie made before being absorbed by Microsoft and consumed with Halo, Oni is that game I barely remember but folks on my Discord desperately love. It's also never been released on digital distribution services, has been out of print for ages, and was the only product of the Bungie West offshoot.

Still, it is the subject of multiple reverse engineering attempts, the latest of which recreates the game for Apple Silicon.
In the anime-style game you play as a female protagonist aligned with the police force but learns that elements of her past are being hid from her, causing a quest of self-discovery.

Developer: id Software
Release Date: December 10, 1993
Source Code Release Date: December 23, 1997

You can't *not* have DOOM on a site like this. With its classic and low system requirements, DOOM famously runs on anything with a screen and a processor, so naturally it (still) runs on the Mac. The most active source port is GZDoom, which is ahead of the curve on having a Universal 2 app with M1 Mac support so we're just linking to it here. Be sure to check out their website for more info.

We've also linked to ZDoom, an older but discontinued predecessor to GZDoom, for those of you who want to run DOOM on an older PowerPC Mac.

  Buy DOOM on GOG.com

Developer: id Software
Release Date: October 10, 1994
Source Code Release Date: December 23, 1997

The retail sequel to DOOM eschews episodes for one long campaign of levels. Adding new weapons and monsters, DOOM II delivers on its promise of more DOOM.

  Buy DOOM II on GOG.com

Developer: TeamTNT
Release Date: June 17, 1996
Source Code Release Date: December 23, 1997

Final DOOM was a retail product which contained two 32-level campaigns, TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment. It used the same weapon and feature set as DOOM II and the episodes were contracted out from the DOOM level editing community.

  Buy Final DOOM on GOG.com