Whisky, a gaming-oriented front end for Wine’s Windows-compatibility tools on macOS, is no longer being updated. Recognized as a valuable tool in the toolkit of Mac gamers, its discontinuation could be seen as a notable loss. However, the developer, Isaac Marovitz, suggests transitioning to CodeWeavers’ CrossOver product as a preferable alternative.
Isaac Marovitz, an 18-year-old college student at Northeastern University, expressed the challenges of balancing his academic pursuits with development work, indicating his need for a break. Marovitz informed Ars Technica that the Whisky project had been inactive for a few months, and his decision to publicly announce the cessation was to address numerous inquiries regarding its status.
Marovitz, who has previously contributed to various gaming projects such as the Switch emulator Ryujinx and PlayCover, explained his rationale for stepping back from Whisky. He noted that Whisky has not significantly benefited the Wine community. He advised users to invest in a CrossOver license, stating that although CodeWeavers and Valve’s Proton have substantially impacted Wine’s development, Whisky’s contributions have been minimal. He also highlighted that fixes necessary for Wine to run Mac games require expertise in multiple technical domains, and the pool of developers with such expertise is limited.
Marovitz mentioned having limited interaction with CodeWeavers regarding Whisky’s development, the company being curious but not authoritative. Nonetheless, he realized from his observations and interactions that Whisky might pose a risk to the sustainability of CrossOver.
Currently, Whisky’s homepage includes a notice stating that it is no longer actively maintained and that apps and games may fail unexpectedly.
CodeWeavers’ CEO, James B. Ramey, addressed the shutdown of Whisky on the company’s blog, accompanied by an image symbolizing partnership rather than competition. Ramey expressed empathy and understanding towards Marovitz’s situation, acknowledging the challenges faced by the young developer. He noted that Whisky, much like CrossOver, originated from a desire to offer users more choices, yet faced overwhelming user expectations. Ramey emphasized that the sustainability of CodeWeavers is crucial for the future of WINE, Proton, and macOS gaming support. He concluded by commending Marovitz’s contributions to macOS gaming, offering respect for his impact in the field.
