Short version: ePSXe for macOS stops at v2.0.5 (June 2016). There is no Apple Silicon build, no 2.0.18 for Mac, and no sign of one on the official site. This page explains what the existing Mac build is, what happens if you try it on a modern Mac, and what Mac users should actually use in 2026.
What exists
The official files include a macOS build of v2.0.5 (ePSXe205.app.zip, 1,425,471 bytes, SHA-256 37cc9caa3af039f81f971edfb0ba66c457a5246d1c5a81c89626c1cec5fa331d), linked from our download page. In its day it matched the other 2.0.5 builds: the shared recompiler, local netplay across the 2.0.5 family, GPUCORE threading, and full memory-card compatibility with the Windows version.
The modern-Mac problem
v2.0.5 predates Apple’s platform shifts. It is an Intel-era application from before macOS dropped 32-bit support and before Apple Silicon existed. On a current Mac you are asking a 2016 binary to survive two architecture/OS revolutions; depending on your macOS version it may run under translation, limp, or refuse entirely. That is not a configuration problem you can fix with settings — it is the age of the build, and any page promising a current native Mac ePSXe is inventing it.
What Mac users should do instead
- For PS1 in 2026: DuckStation ships modern macOS builds (including Apple Silicon) with PGXP and active development — see the comparison and best PS1 emulator roundups.
- For an all-in-one library: RetroArch’s Beetle PSX core is the other maintained route (ePSXe vs RetroArch).
- For your saves: your ePSXe .mcr memory cards are standard files — they import into the modern emulators, so a library built on the old Mac build is not stranded. Our memory card guide covers the transfer.
Why we keep this page honest
Because the alternative — quietly implying a current Mac version exists — sends readers hunting for software that was never released, usually into the arms of scam download sites. The 2.0.5 Mac build remains what it was: a fine emulator of its era, preserved on the official site, and superseded on its own platform.