For once, Mac gets a game first as Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom now runs natively on Apple's M4 chip

Nintendo's renowned game, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, has been successfully run natively on Apple's M4 chip-based Mac computers for the first time. The port, showcased on Twitter by Yong Li (@liyong2077), runs directly on the M4 chip without the need for an emulator. Instead, the ARM64 code of the game is executed directly on the M4 and where necessary, it is rewritten.

Li explains on the port's GitHub page that Tears of the Kingdom likely landed on Mac first due to both the Switch and Apple's devices using Arm64 architecture.

Li's project doesn't include game files and is not affiliated with Nintendo. To run the game, users need to handle the process themselves using Xcode command-line tools and Homebrew. While the game runs smoothly based on Li's video and initial impressions, it does experience some lag when entering new areas and while shaders compile. Li tested the port on an M4 MacBook Air and Mac mini, attaining a smooth 90fps once 8582 shaders were compiled.

This port follows a trend of decompilations and recompilations of other games and retro titles, showing just how far users are willing to push Nintendo's Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on more powerful hardware. The official Switch 2 version has already managed to hit a solid 60fps.