CodeWeavers
CodeWeavers is a self-funded, employee-owned software company founded in 1996 that develops CrossOver, a WINE-based compatibility layer enabling Windows applications to run natively on macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, and Android without a Windows license. It sells consumer licenses direct and offers PortJump porting services to game publishers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersMinnesota City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What CodeWeavers does
CodeWeavers is a privately held, employee-owned software company founded in 1996 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company develops and sells CrossOver, a commercial compatibility layer built on top of the open-source WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) project. CrossOver translates Windows API calls into POSIX/Unix instructions in real time, enabling Windows applications — including productivity software, utilities, and games — to run natively on macOS and Linux without requiring a Windows operating system license, a virtual machine, or dual-booting. CodeWeavers is the largest commercial contributor to the WINE project, having contributed over 90,000 patches and 100,000+ development hours to the open-source community. The product line includes CrossOver Mac, CrossOver Linux, CrossOver for Android/ChromeOS, and a CrossOver Preview early-access channel.
The company's revenue model combines consumer software licensing (a 12-month subscription at $74 or a lifetime license at $494, sold direct-to-consumer through codeweavers.com) with professional services under the PortJump brand (porting Windows applications to Mac and Linux for game and software publishers such as Wargaming and KingsIsle Entertainment) and ExecMode (technical consulting for cross-platform integration). A 14-day free trial is offered before purchase, and seasonal promotions (Midsummer Sale, Cyber Monday) drive conversion. CodeWeavers is entirely self-funded through product sales with no outside investors or venture capital. The company operates affiliate marketing and BetterTesters community programs, and maintains a publicly accessible compatibility database covering 22,374 Windows applications.
CodeWeavers serves primarily individual consumer users on Mac and Linux who need to run specific Windows-only applications — a long tail of hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. Secondary customers include game developers and publishers seeking to extend their Windows titles to Mac/Linux without full native ports, and enterprise clients requiring cross-platform compatibility consulting. The company maintains a strategic co-development relationship with Valve on the Proton project (which underpins Steam Deck gaming) and has partnered with Google on ChromeOS/Android compatibility. CrossOver 27 (June 2026) is Apple Silicon-only, and CrossOver 26 (February 2026) shipped Wine 11 with D3DMetal 3.0 graphics support, reflecting continuous technical evolution over the company's 30-year history.
CodeWeavers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CodeWeavers
- Legal name
- CodeWeavers
- Website
- https://codeweavers.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CodeWeavers is a self-funded, employee-owned software company founded in 1996 that develops CrossOver, a WINE-based compatibility layer enabling Windows applications to run natively on macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, and Android without a Windows license. It sells consumer licenses direct and offers PortJump porting services to game publishers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CodeWeavers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-platform compatibility software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Connector/Adapter Frameworks & Integration Runtimes (HDAEACAJ)
Keywords
Where CodeWeavers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minnesota City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CodeWeavers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- CrossOver Software Licenses: CodeWeavers sells software licenses for CrossOver products. Primary license options are a 12-month subscription (currently discounted from $74) and a lifetime license ($494). The company runs seasonal promotions such as Midsummer and Cyber Monday sales. There is no outside investor funding; the company is entirely funded by product sales.
- CrossOver Subscription / Support: CrossOver licenses include 12-month subscription access with updates and support during the subscription period. A 14-day free trial is available before purchase. After subscription expiry, the software continues to work but updates and support are no longer provided.
- PortJump Application Porting Services: PortJump is a CodeWeavers service to help app and game developers port their Windows applications to Mac and Linux platforms, broadening their market beyond Windows users.
- ExecMode Technical Consulting: ExecMode is CodeWeavers' technical consulting service arm, helping organizations solve complex cross-platform technical challenges.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | CrossOver 12-Month License |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | CrossOver Lifetime License |
| Subscription | Annual | CrossOver Midsommer Seasonal Discount |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | CrossOver 14-Day Free Trial |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
CodeWeavers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CodeWeavers develops and sells CrossOver, a commercial WINE-based compatibility layer that translates Windows API calls into POSIX/Unix calls in real time, allowing Windows applications, productivity software, utilities, and games to run natively on macOS and Linux without a Windows OS license, dual-booting, or virtual-machine overhead. The company also offers PortJump (Windows-to-Mac/Linux application porting services for developers) and ExecMode (technical consulting for organizations with complex cross-platform challenges).
Product overview
CodeWeavers offers CrossOver software, a unique compatibility layer-based approach to running Windows applications on Mac and Linux without requiring Windows OS licenses or full emulation. CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Linux are the core products, while PortJump provides professional porting services for developers, ExecMode offers technical consulting, and CrossOver Preview provides early access to upcoming releases. The company is a major contributor to the open-source Wine project, with over 90,000 patches donated to date.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CrossOver: A compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on macOS and Linux without requiring Windows OS licenses
- PortJump
- ExecMode
Products and services
- CrossOver Mac CrossOver Mac is a WINE-based compatibility layer that translates Windows API calls into native macOS commands in real time, allowing Windows productivity applications, utilities, and games to run on macOS without a Windows OS license, emulation, or dual-booting. Sold to individual Mac users and prosumers via direct e-commerce subscription and lifetime licenses.
- CrossOver Linux CrossOver Linux is a WINE-based compatibility layer that runs Windows applications on Linux distributions at native speed while preserving Linux OS integration. It targets individual Linux users and gaming/productivity use cases without requiring a Windows license or virtual machine.
- PortJump PortJump is a professional service from CodeWeavers that helps Windows software and game developers adapt their applications to run on Mac and Linux, including notable partnerships with KingsIsle Entertainment (Wizard101, Pirate101) and Wargaming (World of Tanks on Mac).
- ExecMode ExecMode is CodeWeavers' technical consulting service that helps enterprises solve complex cross-platform compatibility and integration challenges, including legacy Windows software dependencies in mixed-platform environments.
- CrossOver Android (ChromeBook Support) CrossOver Android extends the CrossOver compatibility runtime to Android devices and ChromeBooks, enabling Windows applications including Steam Client and DirectX 9 games to run on Intel-based ChromeBooks and Android hardware.
Quantifiable outcome
- 22,374 applications in compatibility database, with 4,551 rated as gold medal (working excellently)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use CodeWeavers
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CodeWeavers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
CodeWeavers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.
- ValvecoreCodeWeavers contributes heavily to Proton, the Valve-developed compatibility layer for running Windows games on Linux/Steam Deck. CodeWeavers engineers work on Proton alongside Valve, with Valve funding and supporting CodeWeavers' WINE-related work. The relationship mirrors CodeWeavers' contributions to WINE, extended into Valve's Steam ecosystem.
- Wine Project / Wine CommunitycoreCodeWeavers is the largest commercial contributor to the Wine Project, having contributed over 90,000 patches and 100,000+ development hours. The company also sponsors WineConf, the annual Wine developer conference. Most of CodeWeavers' code is released back to the open-source community under the Wine Project.
- WargamingnotableWargaming partnered with CodeWeavers to bring World of Tanks to Mac OS. CodeWeavers developed a software solution that allowed Mac OS X users to join the World of Tanks gaming community, working closely with Wargaming's development team.
- KingsIsle EntertainmentnotableKingsIsle Entertainment partnered with CodeWeavers to enable Wizard101 and Pirate101 — Windows-based game titles — to run natively on Mac through CrossOver. The partnership was highly successful; Wizard101 ran on CrossOver for 6+ years before a native Mac version was considered.
- GooglenotableCodeWeavers developed CrossOver for Android to run Windows applications on Chromebooks and Android devices. Following Google's announcement that Android apps would come to ChromeBooks, CodeWeavers demonstrated CrossOver Android running on ChromeBooks supporting Steam Client, DirectX 9, keyboard, mouse, and sound.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CodeWeavers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Parallels (Alludo): Parallels Desktop is the dominant commercial solution for running Windows applications on Mac. It uses full hardware virtualization (requiring a Windows license), positioning it as the alternative CodeWeavers explicitly contrasts against on its homepage comparison table ($79.99 plus Windows OS vs. CrossOver's $74 with no Windows license).
- VMware Fusion (Broadcom): VMware Fusion is a competing virtualization solution for running Windows on Mac, targeting the same end-user segment that CrossOver serves. While both products deliver Windows-on-Mac functionality, Fusion requires a Windows license and VM overhead, whereas CrossOver translates APIs natively.
Emerging players
- Apple Game Porting Toolkit: Apple's GPTK is a free developer tool that translates DirectX to Metal, enabling Windows games to run on Apple Silicon Macs. CrossOver 26 explicitly benchmarks against GPTK (claiming 6–25% frame rate gains over GPTK), making it the most direct competitive comparison for the Mac gaming use case.
- Lutris: Lutris is an open-source gaming platform for Linux that manages Wine installations and game compatibility. It targets the same gaming-on-Linux user base as CrossOver Linux but is free, making it a partial-substitute competitor in the hobbyist segment.
- Bottles: Bottles is an open-source Wine prefix manager for Linux that simplifies running Windows applications, similar to how CrossOver bottles work. It is a community-driven, free alternative that progressively closes the UX gap to CrossOver for technically capable users.
- Whisky: Whisky is a free, open-source macOS-native GUI for managing Wine prefixes and running Windows games on Apple Silicon Macs. It targets the same CrossOver Mac user base — particularly gamers — and represents the kind of free alternative that commoditizes CrossOver's value-add layer.
- Heroic Games Launcher: Heroic is an open-source game launcher for Epic Games, GOG, and Prime Gaming on Linux and macOS, with built-in Wine management. It overlaps with CrossOver's gaming use case by providing a free, integrated alternative for cross-platform game library management.
Broad incumbents
- Valve Proton: Valve's Proton is a Wine-based compatibility layer bundled with Steam for running Windows games on Linux and Steam Deck. CodeWeavers engineers contribute to Proton, making it a partner-product rather than pure competitor, but Proton reaches a vastly larger installed base (tens of millions of Steam Deck and Linux Steam users) for free.
- Oracle VirtualBox: VirtualBox is a free, open-source x86 virtualization solution that can host Windows on macOS and Linux. It competes with CrossOver in the broader 'run Windows software on non-Windows' category, though with the overhead and Windows license cost that CrossOver explicitly avoids.
Regional players
- BlueStacks: BlueStacks is a leading Android emulator for Windows and Mac. While not a direct Windows-on-Mac/Linux competitor, it overlaps with CodeWeavers' adjacent CrossOver Android initiative for running Windows applications on mobile devices.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CodeWeavers social profiles
Digital presenceCodeWeavers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CodeWeavers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
CodeWeavers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CodeWeavers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CodeWeavers
What does CodeWeavers do?
CodeWeavers develops and sells CrossOver, a commercial WINE-based compatibility layer that translates Windows API calls into POSIX/Unix calls in real time, allowing Windows applications, productivity software, utilities, and games to run natively on macOS and Linux without a Windows OS license, dual-booting, or virtual-machine overhead. The company also offers PortJump (Windows-to-Mac/Linux application porting services for developers) and ExecMode (technical consulting for organizations with complex cross-platform challenges).
Is CodeWeavers a public or private company?
CodeWeavers is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was CodeWeavers founded?
CodeWeavers was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CodeWeavers based?
CodeWeavers is headquartered in Minnesota City, United States, in the North America region.
How does CodeWeavers make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. CrossOver Software Licenses are the primary driver. The others are crossOver Subscription / Support, portJump Application Porting Services and execMode Technical Consulting.
Who are CodeWeavers's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Parallels (Alludo) and VMware Fusion (Broadcom). Emerging players are Apple Game Porting Toolkit, Lutris, Bottles, Whisky and Heroic Games Launcher. Broad incumbents are Valve Proton and Oracle VirtualBox. BlueStacks is listed as a regional player.
Does CodeWeavers have an API?
No public API is recorded for CodeWeavers.
What industry is CodeWeavers in?
CodeWeavers's product category is Cross-platform compatibility software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEACAJ, Connector/Adapter Frameworks & Integration Runtimes. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.