MacBook Notch Breaks Game Rendering: A Developer's Nightmare
2025-08-15

Many games render incorrectly on MacBooks with notched displays. The issue stems from how games obtain screen resolutions (CGDisplayCopyAllDisplayModes), which returns resolutions including the notch area, resulting in compressed and distorted game visuals. The article analyzes the differences between various screen regions (full screen, safe area, AppKit fullscreen area) and offers a solution for filtering resolutions. However, it ultimately points to Apple's API design as the root cause. The article also lists affected games and potential improvements Apple could implement, such as updating the HIG, improving CGDisplayMode, or creating a new game-centric API.