diff --git a/src/port/Game.cpp b/src/port/Game.cpp
index 74666296d..598b31100 100644
--- a/src/port/Game.cpp
+++ b/src/port/Game.cpp
@@ -943,6 +943,10 @@ void CM_ThrowRuntimeError(const char* fmt, ...) {
     exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 }
 
+#ifdef __APPLE__
+#include <CoreFoundation/CoreFoundation.h>
+#endif
+
 #ifdef _WIN32
 int SDL_main(int argc, char** argv) {
 #else
@@ -955,6 +959,14 @@ extern "C"
 #ifdef _WIN32
     // Allow non-ascii characters for Windows
     setlocale(LC_ALL, ".UTF8");
+#endif
+#if defined(__APPLE__)
+    // Disable the macOS "press and hold" accent/diacritic popup for this app. SDL keeps a Cocoa text
+    // input context active, so holding a movement key is interpreted as holding a letter key in a text
+    // field, and macOS shows the accent picker instead of repeating it. Per-app equivalent of
+    // `defaults write -app <App> ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false`; key repeat still works.
+    CFPreferencesSetAppValue(CFSTR("ApplePressAndHoldEnabled"), kCFBooleanFalse, kCFPreferencesCurrentApplication);
+    CFPreferencesAppSynchronize(kCFPreferencesCurrentApplication);
 #endif
     // load_wasm();
     GameEngine::Create();