RecompLauncher Gathers Nearly 200 Fan-Made Console Recomps for Windows, Linux and Mac

A community project called RecompLauncher has launched a website that collects fan-made recompilations and ports of console games for PC. Its tagline is “Recompiled games, native on PC,” and it describes itself as “console games rebuilt to run natively on Windows, Linux and Mac, straight from their developers.”

It is not an official product from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft or any publisher. The site’s own footer says it is “not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Nintendo, or any game’s publisher or developer.”

What’s in the catalog

The site’s All PC recomps page lists projects such as:

• Zelda 64: Recompiled (The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask)
• Ship of Harkinian (Ocarina of Time) and 2 Ship 2 Harkinian (Majora’s Mask)
• Unleashed Recompiled (Sonic Unleashed)
• Starship (Star Fox 64), Ghostship (Super Mario 64) and SpaghettiKart (Mario Kart 64)
• Banjo: Recompiled and Donkey Kong 64: Recompiled
• Wind Waker HD Recomp, plus Xbox 360-era projects like FM4 Recomp (Forza Motorsport 4) and Lost Odyssey Recomp

VideoCardz reported “over 200” ports. When I checked the All PC recomps page on October 27, it linked 197 individual game pages, so “nearly 200” is the more accurate figure for now. The list will likely change as projects are added.

Being listed doesn’t mean a game is finished. VideoCardz notes that not every listed game is currently playable or available to download, and the site has its own “Coming Soon” section.

How the ports work

Many of the listed projects use static recompilation. Instead of emulating a console’s hardware while the game runs, a tool translates the game’s original machine code ahead of time into source code that can be built as a native program.

The best-known example is N64: Recompiled (N64Recomp). Its README describes it as “a tool to statically recompile N64 binaries into C code that can be compiled for any platform.” The output runs on top of a runtime, N64ModernRuntime, which is what powers Zelda 64: Recompiled.

Not everything in the catalog is a recomp, though. Projects like Ship of Harkinian come from decompilation work, and VideoCardz notes the catalog mixes static recompilations with ports made in other ways.

You bring the game

RecompLauncher’s position on game files is clear on every page: “No game files here. RecompLauncher lists only each recomp, from its developer’s own GitHub. Every game needs your own legally owned copy.”

Its About page adds that the site “doesn’t host any game files or copyrighted game content, and neither do the GitHub repositories it links to,” and that those repositories “hold only the ports and their tools.”

Zelda 64: Recompiled is a good example of what that looks like. Its README tells players to “provide your copy of the North American version of the game in the main menu,” and the project then loads assets from that copy.

Platforms

RecompLauncher says it targets Windows, Linux and Mac. Each project still ships its own builds, so which platforms work depends on the individual game. RecompLauncher itself doesn’t mention Steam Deck or SteamOS. Some listed projects do. Zelda 64: Recompiled, for example, says its Linux build and Flatpak work “on most up-to-date distros, including on the Steam Deck.”

The launcher isn’t out yet

Despite the name, there’s no desktop app to download yet. The Get RecompLauncher page describes the plan as “one app for every PC recomp” that “installs them, keeps them up to date, sets them up from your own copy, and gives every game the same simple settings.” For now, the site is a directory that links to each project.

Where it came from

RecompLauncher grew out of RecompStore, a homebrew store for jailbroken PS5 consoles run by the same team. According to VideoCardz, the developer, known as NedLeeds1 on Reddit, announced the PC version and then settled on the RecompLauncher name after community feedback. VideoCardz also says the project is meant to stay free.

It isn’t the only option. VideoCardz points to Quiver Launcher, which already offers a downloadable app for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android with installs and updates.

A note on the legal side

RecompLauncher’s stated approach is that it links only to developer repositories containing ports and tools, never game data, and that you supply your own legally owned copy. That’s the project’s own description. It isn’t a legal ruling, and the rules on making and using backups vary by country. Check each project’s own instructions and licence before you install anything.

Sources: RecompLauncher, Get RecompLauncher, RecompStore About, N64Recomp on GitHub, Zelda 64: Recompiled on GitHub. Report: VideoCardz.