Imagine tapping a Zelda icon on your iPhone and jumping straight into Hyrule. A new open-source project called nxnative makes that possible by repackaging Switch games you’ve bought into apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no emulator in the middle.
Why does this run so well on Apple devices?
It comes down to the chips. Nintendo’s console and Apple’s newer devices share the same ARM architecture, so the game’s code doesn’t need translating to run. nxnative only replaces what’s unique to Nintendo. A lightweight helper plays the role of the console’s system software, and the graphics are converted to run on Apple’s Metal graphics API.
nxnative started trending after Techjunkie Aman tweeted about it, and its GitHub page now lists over 60 tested games, from Super Mario Odyssey to Metroid Dread. With the right update, Fire Emblem Engage and the two latest Zelda games can hit 60 FPS, while the Switch caps them at 30.
Mac owners can join the party with one more command. Mac gaming YouTuber Andrew Tsai had Monster Hunter Rise running at a steady 60 FPS on an entry-level M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM, and even got Unicorn Overlord working.
What do you need to get started?
You’ll need a fair bit of patience. Start by supplying games and decryption keys from a Switch you own, then run the build script in Xcode on a Mac. The first build can stretch to an hour. Next, install the app with AltStore or Sideloadly. On mobile, it requires iOS or iPadOS 26 on an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or an M1 iPad or later, because older iPhone chips don’t support the texture format these games are packed in. Online play and amiibo won’t work.
Credit goes to GitHub user seedds, and the project has no ties to Nintendo. You provide every file yourself, so nxnative doesn’t hand out any games. Still, Nintendo has a track record here. Switch emulator Yuzu’s team agreed to a $2.4 million settlement in 2024, and Ryujinx disappeared soon after Nintendo got in touch. So we don’t know how long this project would last before Nintendo’s lawyers come calling.
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