How many FPS does Death Stranding Director's Cut get on the MacBook Air M1? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance
26FPS
1080p High
Estimate
16
1440p
8
4K
About 26 FPS at 1080p on High: Death Stranding Director's Cut runs natively on the MacBook Air M1 (Apple M1, 7-core GPU, 8 GB). That is on the edge, but it is playable with lower settings. For 60 FPS, use 1080p Low + MetalFX Performance (about 61 FPS).
Data reviewed October 1, 2026 · how we calculate it
Death Stranding Director's Cut FPS on MacBook Air M1 by resolution and quality
Estimate| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 36FPS | 31FPS | 26FPS | 21FPS |
| 1440p | 22FPS | 19FPS | 16FPS | 13FPS |
| 4K | 12FPS | 10FPS | 8FPS | 7FPS |
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
1080p · Low
+ MetalFX Performance
≈ 61 FPS
For 30 FPS
1080p · Medium
≈ 31 FPS
Moving to 1440p High puts the MacBook Air M1 at about 16 FPS. MetalFX renders at a lower resolution and upscales, so it is the cheapest way to play at the display’s native resolution.
Full guide to boost Death Stranding Director's Cut FPS on Mac →
Performance with MetalFX
MetalFX renders Death Stranding Director's Cut at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the image: you gain FPS for a little sharpness. Figures on High with 8 GB.
| Resolution | Native | Quality | Balanced | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 26FPS | 32FPS | 38FPS | 43FPS |
| 1440p | 16FPS | 20FPS | 24FPS | 27FPS |
| 4K | 8FPS | 10FPS | 12FPS | 14FPS |
All figures are without ray tracing. The real MetalFX gain varies by game and version.
The MacGameFPS verdict
Calibrated on real Mac benchmarks, not spec sheets
Is the MacBook Air M1 enough for Death Stranding Director's Cut?
It falls short: 26 FPS at 1080p High. For 30 FPS use 1080p Medium.
Struggles · 1440p 16 FPS · 4K 8 FPS
MacBook Air M1 or MacBook Neo for Death Stranding Director's Cut?
In Death Stranding Director's Cut at 1080p High, the MacBook Air M1 gets 26 FPS and the MacBook Neo 27 FPS: 4% more.
MacBook Air M1 specs
- Chip
- Apple M1
- GPU cores
- 7 / 8
- Unified memory
- 8 / 16 GB
- Cooling
- Fanless
- Geekbench Metal
- 29,497
- Tier
- Entry level · 8/100
Other Macs with the M1 chip
The Apple M1 also powers the MacBook Pro M1, the Mac mini M1, and the iMac M1. In Death Stranding Director's Cut, the Mac mini M1 gets 34 FPS at 1080p High, 31% more than the MacBook Air M1, mainly because its fan keeps clocks up under load.
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. Death Stranding Director's Cut asks for 8 GB minimum.
| Memory | 1080p High | 1440p High |
|---|---|---|
| 8 GB | 26FPS | 16FPS |
| 16 GB | 27FPS | 17FPS |
Other Macs for Death Stranding Director's Cut
1080p · High
MacBook Pro M1
M1 · 8 GPU
33FPSView analysis
iMac M1
M1 · 7/8 GPU
30FPSView analysis
Mac mini M1
M1 · 8 GPU
34FPSView analysis
MacBook Pro M1 Pro
M1 Pro · 14/16 GPU
65FPSView analysis
MacBook Air M2
M2 · 8/10 GPU
35FPSView analysisMac mini M2
M2 · 10 GPU
52FPSView analysis
Mac Studio M1 Max
M1 Max · 24/32 GPU
109FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M2
M2 · 10 GPU
50FPSView analysis
Death Stranding Director's Cut on every Mac →
Shopping for an all-round gaming Mac? Mac ranking by real FPS →
Other games on the MacBook Air M1
- Hitman World of Assassination30FPS
- Lies of P38FPS
- GRID Legends37FPS
- Rise of the Tomb Raider34FPS
- Cities: Skylines44FPS
- Civilization VI44FPS
- Civilization VII38FPS
- Crusader Kings III44FPS
- Divinity: Original Sin 244FPS
- Final Fantasy XIV44FPS
Official Mac requirements
- Minimum
- Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) · macOS 13.3 or later
Source: support.505games.com
FAQ
Can the 8 GB MacBook Air M1 run Death Stranding Director's Cut?
Yes. With 8 GB we estimate 26 FPS at 1080p High.
Can Death Stranding Director's Cut hit 60 FPS on the MacBook Air M1?
Yes: at 1080p Low + MetalFX Performance it runs around 61 FPS.
Does the MacBook Air M1 throttle in Death Stranding Director's Cut?
The MacBook Air M1 has no fan. In long sessions it lowers clocks to manage heat, and our figures already account for that sustained loss, around 15% in a game this demanding.
What about 1440p and 4K?
On High, the MacBook Air M1 gets about 16 FPS at 1440p and about 8 FPS at 4K in Death Stranding Director's Cut. These are native figures: MetalFX raises both noticeably.
Do these figures include MetalFX or ray tracing?
No. The headline figure is native resolution, no MetalFX and no ray tracing. The table below shows MetalFX turned on. Ray tracing, where a game offers it, costs a lot of FPS on any Mac.
Is Death Stranding Director's Cut native on Apple Silicon?
Yes, it has a native Apple Silicon version, available on Mac App Store. No CrossOver, Parallels or Game Porting Toolkit needed.