nxnative: Switch games running natively on iPhone and Mac
By Tgames · · 3 min read
nxnative runs your own Switch games natively on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with no emulator. And a spin-off already launches Mario Kart World, from the Switch 2.
Not an emulator
Opened on October 13, 2026 by seedds under the MIT license, nxnative already has more than 8,500 stars on GitHub. It does not simulate the Switch: the game's code, written for an ARM processor like Apple's chips, runs on them directly. nxnative rewrites the game's executables, mimics the services of the console's system (Horizon), and translates Nintendo's NVN graphics calls to Metal, Apple's technology.
The project started from d2r-mobile, which had done the same for Diablo II: Resurrected, and reuses building blocks from Ryujinx, Atmosphère and yuzu.
How it works
89 games tested
The project's list counts 89 games tested on Mac or iPhone, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokémon Scarlet, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and both open-world Zelda games, which even reach 60 frames per second with the right updates (1.9.0 for Breath of the Wild, 1.4.3 for Tears of the Kingdom). Other games are not supported: the script still gives them a try, with no guarantee.
And now Mario Kart World, from the Switch 2
On October 27, Will Faust posted on X a video of Mario Kart World, the Switch 2's flagship game, running on macOS through a modified version of nxnative. The result is still rough: some shaders are missing, the game lags and parts of the scenery fly all over the place. According to Will Faust, the hardest part was supporting NVN2, the Switch 2's new graphics library. Faust says they dumped their own copy with ns2jb.
This version is not public: nobody can test it, and nothing says it will be. It is the first time a Switch 2 game has been seen running outside the console, but there is still no tool to do it yourself, as we explained in our look at Switch 2 emulation.
What about legality?
The repository contains no game data and states that it has no ties to Nintendo. You need a game and keys taken from your own console. Nintendo remains very active against projects that make piracy easier, as we reported about Switch emulation and GitHub.
Questions about emulation belong in the Switch & Wii U Questions/Help.
Sources: nxnative (GitHub) · Will Faust's video (X) · XDA Developers
Not an emulator
Opened on October 13, 2026 by seedds under the MIT license, nxnative already has more than 8,500 stars on GitHub. It does not simulate the Switch: the game's code, written for an ARM processor like Apple's chips, runs on them directly. nxnative rewrites the game's executables, mimics the services of the console's system (Horizon), and translates Nintendo's NVN graphics calls to Metal, Apple's technology.
The project started from d2r-mobile, which had done the same for Diablo II: Resurrected, and reuses building blocks from Ryujinx, Atmosphère and yuzu.
How it works
- You provide your game (NSP, XCI, NSZ or XCZ files, with its updates and DLC) and your own keys (prod.keys), taken from your console.
- A script, run on a Mac, turns them into an iPhone or iPad app (an IPA to install with AltStore, Sideloadly or LiveContainer), or a Mac app.
- The first build takes 30 to 60 minutes, and needs about twice the game's size in free space, plus 10 GB.
89 games tested
The project's list counts 89 games tested on Mac or iPhone, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokémon Scarlet, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and both open-world Zelda games, which even reach 60 frames per second with the right updates (1.9.0 for Breath of the Wild, 1.4.3 for Tears of the Kingdom). Other games are not supported: the script still gives them a try, with no guarantee.
And now Mario Kart World, from the Switch 2
On October 27, Will Faust posted on X a video of Mario Kart World, the Switch 2's flagship game, running on macOS through a modified version of nxnative. The result is still rough: some shaders are missing, the game lags and parts of the scenery fly all over the place. According to Will Faust, the hardest part was supporting NVN2, the Switch 2's new graphics library. Faust says they dumped their own copy with ns2jb.
This version is not public: nobody can test it, and nothing says it will be. It is the first time a Switch 2 game has been seen running outside the console, but there is still no tool to do it yourself, as we explained in our look at Switch 2 emulation.
What about legality?
The repository contains no game data and states that it has no ties to Nintendo. You need a game and keys taken from your own console. Nintendo remains very active against projects that make piracy easier, as we reported about Switch emulation and GitHub.
Questions about emulation belong in the Switch & Wii U Questions/Help.
Sources: nxnative (GitHub) · Will Faust's video (X) · XDA Developers
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