nxnative Runs Nintendo Switch Games Natively on iPhone and Mac
The open-source nxnative project repackages Switch games you own into native apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac, with some titles reaching 60 FPS.
A new open-source project called nxnative turns Nintendo Switch games you own into native apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is not an emulator, and according to its GitHub page more than 60 games have been tested, from Super Mario Odyssey to Metroid Dread.
Why it works on Apple hardware
The Switch and recent Apple devices share the same ARM architecture, so the game's code does not have to be translated. nxnative replaces only the parts unique to Nintendo's console: a lightweight helper stands in for the Switch system software, and the graphics are converted to run on Apple's Metal API.
The result can beat the original hardware. With the right update, Fire Emblem Engage and the two latest Zelda games can reach 60 FPS, while the Switch caps them at 30. On the Mac side, YouTuber Andrew Tsai ran Monster Hunter Rise at a steady 60 FPS on an entry-level M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM, and also got Unicorn Overlord working.
What you need
Setup takes patience. Users supply games and decryption keys from a Switch they own, then run a build script in Xcode on a Mac. The first build can take up to an hour, after which the app is installed through AltStore or Sideloadly.
On mobile, nxnative requires iOS or iPadOS 26 on an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or an iPad with an M1 chip or later. Older iPhone chips do not support the texture format these games use. Online play and amiibo do not work.
Legal risk
The project is credited to GitHub user seedds and has no ties to Nintendo. Because users provide every file themselves, nxnative distributes no games. Still, Nintendo has acted against similar tools: the team behind the Yuzu emulator agreed to a $2.4 million settlement in 2024, and Ryujinx disappeared soon after Nintendo made contact. How long nxnative stays online is unclear.
