Recomp Games on PC: 140 Console Games That Run Without an Emulator

A static recompilation turns a console game into a native Windows or Linux program, so it runs with no emulator in between. In autumn 2026 the number of these projects grew faster than anyone could track. Our GitHub check on October 28 counted 140 games from N64, Xbox 360, the original Xbox, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, PS2, PS3 and Switch with a downloadable build. This page lists them by console with the version, GitHub stars, what you need to run each one and an honest note on how far you can actually play.

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What a recomp is, and how it differs from an emulator

An emulator pretends to be the console. It translates every instruction of a foreign CPU while you play and imitates the console's graphics chip. A recompiler does that translation once, ahead of time. It takes the game's executable from your own copy, converts the machine code into plain C or C++, builds a PC program from it and swaps graphics and audio for its own libraries. The result is an .exe that behaves like a regular PC game: no translation overhead, any resolution, any frame rate, and room for mods.

Two tools started the wave: N64Recomp for the Nintendo 64, which gave us Majora's Mask in 2024, and XenonRecomp for the Xbox 360, which gave us Sonic Unleashed. By autumn 2026 there were recompilers for Switch, GameCube, Wii, PS2 and PS3 too, and projects started landing in batches. Many are built with AI help, and most authors say so in the README.

How many recomps are out, and which ones people follow

The Xbox 360 leads because it has a shared toolkit, rexglue, that most new ports are built on. The N64 is second, where the Zelda64Recomp template turned recompilation into something close to an assembly line. GitHub stars below are the best public signal of how many people watch a project.

Nintendo 64: about 25 games, most of them beatable

The most mature platform. Nearly every port uses the Zelda64Recomp template and ships for Windows, Linux and macOS at once, with a Flatpak for Steam Deck. You need a .z64 file dumped from your own cartridge, almost always the US version. "Beatable" in the table means the author says so in the README; an asterisk means we are judging by the version number.

Xbox 360: more than 50 games, from Sonic Unleashed to Fable II

The biggest and messiest group. You need an ISO of your own disc or the XEX files, and Sonic Unleashed, Skate 3 and Spider-Man: Edge of Time also want the title update. Builds are mostly for Windows, many with Linux and Steam Deck versions. A lot of these projects went public in the last few weeks, so their state changes almost daily.

The original Xbox has twelve recomps so far, including BLACK, Burnout 3: Takedown, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Ninja Gaiden Black, SSX Tricky and Mercenaries. They share one runtime, xboxrecomp.

GameCube, Wii and Wii U: Wind Waker HD can be finished

PS2 and PS3: Ace Combat 5 is beatable, the rest is just starting

The shared tools here are PS2Recomp (3721 stars, and its author still calls it experimental) and ps3recomp. More on the Xbox 360 and PS3 wave in our separate story.

Switch: Link's Awakening, Skyward Sword HD and Monster Hunter

The Switch uses an ARM processor, which makes these projects heavier. Many build the game's code on your PC the first time you launch them, and some ask for your console keys and firmware. Every Switch game with full details is in our Switch list; here are the main ones:

Other consoles have eleven recomps so far, and a few of them are big names: SymphonyRecomp (Symphony of the Night from the PS1, 996 stars), TriAevum (Ocarina of Time 3D, 581), Yakumo (Monster Hunter Portable 3rd from the PSP, 534), Donkey Kong Country and Mega Man X from the SNES, Metroid Prime Hunters from the DS, MediEvil and Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories from the PS1, and God of War and GTA: Liberty City Stories from the PSP.

Are the PS4 ports recomps too?

Not quite, and people mix this up all the time. The PS4 uses the same x86-64 CPU architecture as a PC, so there is no code to translate. The Bloodborne, God of War III, Uncharted, Driveclub and other ports run the game's own code directly on your CPU and replace the console's system functions and graphics with their own layer on top of Vulkan. Their authors compare it to Wine and DXVK. Even the one called driveclub-recomp works this way. You still get a PC version with no emulator, it is just made differently, and all of them are in our PS4 ports list.

How to run a recomp in five steps

On Steam Deck most N64 projects install as a Flatpak, and many Xbox 360 and GameCube ports ship a separate Linux build. When they do not, the Windows build usually runs through Proton.

How to tell a real project from a fake

Every big recomp attracts clones within days, and some of them carry malware. These are the signs we use to filter them out:

One more caveat: a few projects ship code that has already been recompiled instead of building it on your machine. That is a grey area, and rights holders take those down faster than the rest. We update this page as new versions land: new projects, games moving from "partial" to "beatable", and repositories pulled from GitHub.

Not recomps, but close: decomps and source ports

These run just as well but were made differently: the game's code was rebuilt by hand. People often search for them alongside recomps: Ship of Harkinian (Ocarina of Time), 2 Ship 2 Harkinian (Majora's Mask), SpaghettiKart (Mario Kart 64), Starship (Star Fox 64), Perfect Dark, OpenGOAL (Jak and Daxter) and nebula (Super Mario Galaxy).

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