MacGameFPS

How many FPS does Death Stranding Director's Cut get on the MacBook Air M3? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance

38FPS

1080p High

Estimate

23

1440p

12

4K

Playable

About 38 FPS at 1080p on High: Death Stranding Director's Cut runs natively on the MacBook Air M3 (Apple M3, 8-core GPU, 8 GB). It is playable, with little headroom. For 60 FPS, use 1080p Low + MetalFX Quality (about 65 FPS).

Data reviewed October 1, 2026 · how we calculate it

Death Stranding Director's Cut FPS on MacBook Air M3 by resolution and quality

Estimate
ResolutionLowMediumHighUltra
1080p53FPS45FPS38FPS31FPS
1440p33FPS28FPS23FPS19FPS
4K17FPS15FPS12FPS10FPS

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 Quality

≈ 65 FPS

For 30 FPS

1440p · Low

≈ 33 FPS

Moving to 1440p High puts the MacBook Air M3 at about 23 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.

ResolutionNativeQualityBalancedPerformance
1080p38FPS47FPS56FPS63FPS
1440p23FPS29FPS35FPS40FPS
4K12FPS15FPS18FPS21FPS

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 M3 enough for Death Stranding Director's Cut?

Just about: 38 FPS at 1080p High is playable but has no headroom. Dropping to Medium or turning on MetalFX steadies it.

Playable · 1440p 23 FPS · 4K 12 FPS

Guide to boost Death Stranding Director's Cut FPS on Mac →

MacBook Air M3 or MacBook Air M4 for Death Stranding Director's Cut?

In Death Stranding Director's Cut at 1080p High, the MacBook Air M3 gets 38 FPS and the MacBook Air M4 48 FPS: 26% more.

Death Stranding Director's Cut on MacBook Air M4 →MacBook Air M3 vs MacBook Air M4 →

MacBook Air M3 specs

MacBook Air M3
Chip
Apple M3
GPU cores
8 / 10
Unified memory
8 / 16 / 24 GB
Cooling
Fanless
Geekbench Metal
41,753
Tier
Entry level · 11/100

See the MacBook Air M3’s FPS in every game →

Other Macs with the M3 chip

The Apple M3 also powers the MacBook Pro M3 and the iMac M3. In Death Stranding Director's Cut, the MacBook Pro M3 gets 53 FPS at 1080p High, 39% more than the MacBook Air M3, mainly because its fan keeps clocks up under load.

MacBook Pro M3iMac M3

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.

Memory1080p High1440p High
8 GB38FPS23FPS
16 GB40FPS25FPS
24 GB40FPS25FPS

Other Macs for Death Stranding Director's Cut

1080p · High

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 M3

Every game on the MacBook Air M3 →

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 M3 run Death Stranding Director's Cut?

Yes. With 8 GB we estimate 38 FPS at 1080p High.

Can Death Stranding Director's Cut hit 60 FPS on the MacBook Air M3?

Yes: at 1080p Low + MetalFX Quality it runs around 65 FPS.

Does the MacBook Air M3 throttle in Death Stranding Director's Cut?

The MacBook Air M3 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 M3 gets about 23 FPS at 1440p and about 12 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.