Players are taking finished games apart and rebuilding them
Players no longer wait for a publisher to bring an old game to a new machine, add features or splice it into another. They still need a copy of the original, and publishers, who hold the copyright, have taken projects down since 2020.
What is decompilation?
A game reaches players as a binary that machines run easily and people struggle to read, never as its source code. Decompilation works back from the binary to source code people can change. In its strict form each rebuilt function is compiled again with the original compiler and compared byte by byte with the original until they match.
Where it stands
Fans rebuild the source code of finished games from the programs players buy, so the games run natively on new machines and can be changed. Super Mario 64 was fully decompiled in 2019, and in 2024 a recompiler ported Majora's Mask to PC in two days. In 2026 players began using AI to do the same work and to remix one game into another: a skateboarding feature added to Modern Warfare drew 7.4 million views.
Timeline
2019
Fans publish a full decompilation of Super Mario 64
The n64decomp project publishes source code that rebuilds Super Mario 64 for five releases of the game. It holds none of Nintendo's assets, so anyone who builds it needs a copy of the game.
n64decomp, Super Mario 64 repository on GitHub (read 20 October 2026)
2020
A native PC port of Super Mario 64 appears
An unnamed release turns Super Mario 64 into a Windows program that runs without an emulator, at the monitor's own resolution and with Xbox controller support. PC Gamer says it is possibly the result of the 2019 decompilation.
Nintendo files notices against the Mario port
Days after the release, Nintendo files copyright notices against copies of the Super Mario 64 PC port, calling it 'an unauthorized derivative work based on Nintendo's copyrighted work.'
2021
Take-Two sues the makers of re3 and reVC
Take-Two sues the developers of re3 and reVC, reverse-engineered versions of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. Much of its claim rests on the ports running on the Switch, Wii U and PS Vita, platforms the games never launched on.
2022
Fans release Ocarina of Time on PC
Ship of Harkinian, a PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, comes out built on code the Zelda Reverse Engineering Team decompiled. It adds HD graphics, widescreen and other features the original never had.
2023
Take-Two settles with the re3 developers
Take-Two and the developers of re3 and reVC settle out of court and file to dismiss the case. The terms are not known, and the case ends without a court ruling on the reverse-engineered code.
2024
Valve has a Nintendo 64 Portal taken down
James Lambert, who rebuilt Portal to run on a Nintendo 64, says Valve asked him to take the project down because it 'depends on Nintendo's proprietary libraries.' Portal 64 was a fan remake rather than a decompilation, and the request came from Valve, not Nintendo.
Yuzu's makers agree to pay Nintendo $2.4 million
The developers of Yuzu, a Switch emulator, agree to pay Nintendo $2.4 million and take it offline. Yuzu imitated a console rather than rebuilding a game, and the case was settled rather than decided.
A recompiler ports Majora's Mask in two days
N64: Recompiled, a tool that turns Nintendo 64 game code into native PC programs, debuts with a widescreen port of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask that took two days to make, helped by earlier work on the game. Unlike an emulator, the port runs directly on the computer.
2026
Fans finish decompiling Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy, a Wii game, is 100% decompiled, and members of its community announce a PC port, Astrocore, which they say is coded entirely by humans. The team moves on to Super Mario Galaxy 2.
A modder decompiles Modern Warfare 2 with AI agents
Maurice Heumann decompiles Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with Anthropic's Claude, running up to 17 AI agents over 11 weeks by his own report.
Players remix one game into another and draw millions of views
Clips of games remixed with AI spread on X. A skateboarding feature added to Modern Warfare draws 7.4 million views, and a mod turning Minecraft into Elden Ring 23.3 million.
A Switch game still on sale is ported mostly by AI
A developer releases a static recompilation of the Nintendo Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, made 'with almost exclusive use of AI.' Unlike the older games ported before it, Link's Awakening is still sold on current consoles.
Consequences
012026
Fans add what the publisher never shipped
Ship of Harkinian now has a built-in randomizer, text-to-speech and hundreds of enhancements. sm64coopdx adds four-player co-op to Super Mario 64, and Dinosaur Planet: Recompiled is restoring a Rare game that was never released.
022026
One tool can port a whole console
N64: Recompiled now does much of the porting work for the Nintendo 64, ReXGlue for the Xbox 360 and RecompOne for the original PlayStation. PC Gamer counts hundreds of fans reverse-engineering old games, mostly for PC and Android.
032026
AI ports race the people whose tools they use
A Banjo-Tooie recompilation built on N64: Recompiled, whose creator says AI generated substantial portions of its code, appears before the port the tool's own developers had long planned. They disown it: 'We're not interested in engaging a race to the bottom.'
042026
Remixing a game takes a one-line prompt
Naavik finds that remixing games is already as simple as a one-line prompt drawing on public repositories. Melty packages the workflow as a no-code tool that builds mash-ups.
Objections
Counterpoint2026
Publishers take the AI-era projects down
The post showing the AI decompilation of Modern Warfare 2 was taken down after a copyright claim, and a similar Fallout modding project met the same end, Naavik reports.
Counterpoint2026
A recompiled game still on sale draws a notice
SNK files a takedown notice with GitHub against a static recompilation of the Xbox 360 version of Metal Slug XX, linking the game's current Xbox store page. It says it has not authorized anyone to modify or distribute the game.
Counterpoint2026
The law protects reverse engineering, not handing out the result
Rulings such as Sega v. Accolade and Sony v. Connectix found that some reverse engineering can be fair use, but that protection does not automatically extend to distributing or selling a rebuilt copy of a game, Naavik notes. Most game licenses forbid reverse engineering outright.
Counterpoint2026
It is still slow, and it starts from the original
A full decompilation remains a tedious process even with AI, Naavik notes, and it still starts with an original copy of the game.
What to watch
2026
Nintendo's own Ocarina of Time remake
5 November 2026, when Nintendo releases its remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2, the game fans brought to PC as Ship of Harkinian in 2022.
2026
The human-made Super Mario Galaxy port
The release of Astrocore, the PC port of Super Mario Galaxy that its developers say is coded entirely by humans and expect to release soon. No date has been given.
2026
A hand-made Banjo-Tooie port
A Banjo-Tooie port from the developers of Zelda 64: Recompiled and Banjo: Recompiled, who have long said they plan one and will not use AI to make it. It would set a hand-made port beside the AI-written one. No date has been given.
Further reading
- AnalysisIf you're not paying attention to retro game recompilations, you're missing the most exciting thing in gaming right nowpcgamer.com
- AnalysisViral Game Mash-ups: What AI Decompilation Capabilities Mean For Gamesnaavik.co
- ReportingNintendo 64 games can now be instantly ported to PC, and there's a widescreen, 60 FPS Majora's Mask to play right nowgamesradar.com
Where to follow it PC Gamer, GamesRadar+, Naavik, the N64: Recompiled project, GitHub's public DMCA notices