Go to, and download Apple Silicon or Intel version depending on which type of CPU your Mac has. Many Steam ports for macOS are based on this library. SLDL2 is a library for cross-platform development designed to provide low-level access to hardware such as I/O and graphics cards. Next, install the amework into (in your root) Library/Frameworks. Go to, and download SLD2 for macOS and decompress it.

The downside is that SDL Mame's UI is pretty minimal, and it requires being launched from the command-line but works great. SDLMame is a port of MAME by It also features MESS which emulates many retro consoles as well. As of writing this, OpenEMU is currently in lock-step with SDLMAME as both feature version 0.235, but OpenEMU is not Apple Silicon native. For years, OpenEMU was stuck at MAME version. SDLMAME is a macOS port of MAME and MESS that features both native Intel and Apple Silicon support and (previously) has been updated much more frequently than OpenEMU's MAME core. I had some difficulty finding one that worked in more modern distributions of MAME. You'll see the NeoGeo ROM in your game list, but ignore it and double-click the games as you normally would. Step 4: Optional: NeoGeo EmulationĮmulating NeoGeo games requires one extra step, you'll need to get the NeoGeo BIOS Rom. Try a popular search engine or archive site like for information about ROMs.

You'll need to install that file by dragging it onto the window. If the game you are trying to play has a dependency, it'll display an error when you try and launch the game, with the name of the missing file. MAME games are file name specific, unlike most other emulators, so do not change the name. zip files into OpenEMU under the Arcade tab. Installing games is pretty straightforward. Launch OpenEmu, open preferences, and select cores. Right-click OpenEMU, and select open to bring up the prompt that will let you run the application.

OpenEMU is open source but it isn't signed, you'll see an error if you try an execute it. Step 2: Safelist MAME (Big Sur 11.x and above) If I had to guess, it's likely because there are a few missing assets (the control menu for MAME doesn't have a skeuomorphic graphic, for instance), and it doesn't filter out BIOS files. I'm unclear as to why after years, the MAME version is still experimental. Regular OpenEMU does not support the MAME core, so you need to get the experimental version from. It's designed to be the one-stop-shop for Mac emulation, and it does a fantastic job. OpenEMU is a beautiful core-based emulator (akin to RetroArch) that supports many game consoles.

Mame mac emulator