How many FPS does Cities: Skylines get on the MacBook Pro M3 Max? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance
166FPS
1080p High
Estimate
131
1440p
73
4K
About 166 FPS at 1080p on High: Cities: Skylines runs through Rosetta 2 on the MacBook Pro M3 Max (Apple M3 Max, 30-core GPU, 36 GB). It has headroom to spare, so you can raise resolution or quality.
Data reviewed October 1, 2026 · how we calculate it
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Cities: Skylines FPS on MacBook Pro M3 Max by resolution and quality
Estimate| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 176FPS | 173FPS | 166FPS | 155FPS |
| 1440p | 159FPS | 148FPS | 131FPS | 113FPS |
| 4K | 100FPS | 87FPS | 73FPS | 61FPS |
Estimated average in normal gameplay with the game and macOS up to date. Green: 60+ · lime: 45+ · amber: 30+ · orange: 20+ · red: under 20.
Recommended settings
For 60 FPS
1440p · Ultra
≈ 113 FPS
For 30 FPS
1440p · Ultra
≈ 113 FPS
Moving to 1440p High puts the MacBook Pro M3 Max at about 131 FPS. This game has no MetalFX, so resolution is the setting that matters most.
The MacGameFPS verdict
Calibrated on real Mac benchmarks, not spec sheets
Is the MacBook Pro M3 Max enough for Cities: Skylines?
Yes, comfortably: 166 FPS at 1080p High. You can move to 1440p (131 FPS) or your display’s native resolution.
Excellent · 1440p 131 FPS · 4K 73 FPS
MacBook Pro M3 Max or MacBook Pro M4 Max for Cities: Skylines?
In Cities: Skylines at 1080p High, the MacBook Pro M3 Max gets 166 FPS and the MacBook Pro M4 Max 175 FPS: 5% more.
MacBook Pro M3 Max specs
- Chip
- Apple M3 Max
- GPU cores
- 30 / 40
- Unified memory
- 36 / 48 / 64 / 96 / 128 GB
- Cooling
- Fan
- Geekbench Metal
- 125,208
- Tier
- Mid range · 34/100
How much memory do you need?
On Apple Silicon the GPU shares memory with the system, so the RAM you picked when buying the Mac is also your video memory. Cities: Skylines asks for 6 GB minimum.
| Memory | 1080p High | 1440p High |
|---|---|---|
| 36 GB | 166FPS | 131FPS |
| 48 GB | 166FPS | 131FPS |
| 64 GB | 166FPS | 131FPS |
| 96 GB | 166FPS | 131FPS |
| 128 GB | 166FPS | 131FPS |
Other Macs for Cities: Skylines
1080p · High
MacBook Pro M3 Pro
M3 Pro · 14/18 GPU
108FPSView analysis
Mac Studio M3 Ultra
M3 Ultra · 60/80 GPU
178FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M4 Max
M4 Max · 32/40 GPU
175FPSView analysis
MacBook Air M3
M3 · 8/10 GPU
65FPSView analysisMac Studio M4 Max
M4 Max · 32/40 GPU
175FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M2 Max
M2 Max · 30/38 GPU
163FPSView analysisMac Studio M2 Max
M2 Max · 30/38 GPU
164FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M3
M3 · 10 GPU
83FPSView analysis
Cities: Skylines on every Mac →
Shopping for an all-round gaming Mac? Mac ranking by real FPS →
Other games on the MacBook Pro M3 Max
- Assassin's Creed Shadows32FPS
- Crimson Desert50FPS
- Cyberpunk 207756FPS
- Baldur's Gate 380FPS
- Control Ultimate Edition78FPS
- Death Stranding Director's Cut125FPS
- Hitman World of Assassination132FPS
- Lies of P139FPS
- Metro Exodus117FPS
- Resident Evil 4105FPS
Official Mac requirements
- Minimum
- OS X 10.11 · Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0 GHz · 6 GB memory · 512 MB dedicated GPU · 4 GB storage · Intel build, runs on Apple silicon through Rosetta 2
- Recommended
- OS X 10.11 · Intel Core i5-3470 · 8 GB memory · 2 GB dedicated GPU
Source: store.steampowered.com
FAQ
Can the 36 GB MacBook Pro M3 Max run Cities: Skylines?
Yes. With 36 GB we estimate 166 FPS at 1080p High.
Can Cities: Skylines hit 60 FPS on the MacBook Pro M3 Max?
Yes: at 1440p Ultra it runs around 113 FPS.
What about 1440p and 4K?
On High, the MacBook Pro M3 Max gets about 131 FPS at 1440p and about 73 FPS at 4K in Cities: Skylines. These are native figures.
Do these figures include MetalFX or ray tracing?
No. The headline figure is native resolution, no MetalFX and no ray tracing. Cities: Skylines has no MetalFX on Mac. Ray tracing, where a game offers it, costs a lot of FPS on any Mac.
Is Cities: Skylines native on Apple Silicon?
Not quite: it has an official macOS version, but built for Intel. On Apple Silicon it runs through Rosetta 2, built into macOS, with nothing else to install. Our figures already include that overhead.