Mac dev sucks. You're forced to use macos and xcode (for the final build anyway). You're not able to virtualize the build machines.
Apple is actively hostile to how you would build for Linux or PC or console.
Apple is actively hostile to how you would build for Linux or PC or console.
Sure you can. And officially, too. Apple still ships a bunch of virtualization drivers in macOS itself. Have a look:
/System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleVmxnet3Ethernet.kext
Whether or not you're using ESXi, or want to, is an entirely different question. But "you're not able to" is simply incorrect. I virtualize several build agents and have for years with no issues.
macOS 26 is the last major version to support Intel, so once macOS 28 is latest this will probably become impossible (macOS 26 should be able to use Xcode 27, but maybe the platform removal will change this previous year's OS support from continuing).
I think OP means virtualizing on something that isn't Apple.
You can get an xcode building for arm Macs on PC hardware with this?
- Linux: windows and Linux vm.
- Apple: windows, Linux, Apple VM.
Seems pretty straightforward.
I am being facetious. You'll have a PC for gamedev because that's your biggest platform unless you are primarily switch or PS5, in which case you'll have a devkit as well as a PC. But the cost of an Apple device is insignificant compared to the cost of developing the software for it.
So it really comes down to the market size and _where they are_. The games I play are either on my PS5, or on my Mac, never both. For any specific game, they are on one or the other. Ghost of Tsushima is on the PS5. Factorio is on my Mac. If I were an indie game developer, I'd likely be developing the kind of game that has a good market on the Mac.
Having to use xcode "for the final build" is irrelevant to the game development experience.
If you are building your engine/game from scratch, you absolutely do not need to use Xcode
Nonetheless that’s a small fraction of the time spent actually developing the game.
That makes it a continuous headache to keep your Mac builders up.
It means you need to double dev hardware costs or more as you need a gaming PC to target your core audience and Macs handle the mac bugs.
It means your mac build machines are special snowflakes because you can't just use VMs.
The list goes on and on of Mac being actively hostile to the process.
Just Rider running on a Mac is pleasant sure, but that's not the issue.