Zelda: Ocarina of Time reportedly already runs on PC through an emulator, just hours after its Switch 2 release

Just hours after its November 5th release, the upcoming Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is reportedly already playable on PC through an emulator, according to reports. Emulation in this regard is still very much in its infancy, with only a handful of games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bonanza (Splatoon Raiders) running at varying frame rates on platforms like Eglantine, a fork of a Switch 2-focused version of the Switch emulator Eden, and Lichii, a fork of Eglantine.

The rapid progress seen in these projects is largely attributed to AI tools like Claude, which have helped speed up development. Lichii seems to be making the most headway in terms of running Ocarina of Time on PC, achieving frame rates of 15fps to 30fps, depending on the hardware's power. The game runs at 60fps on the Switch 2, but performance on PC appears to be smoother.

A notable example of this is someone achieving near 60fps in the Great Deku Tree, a relatively small section of the game, potentially due to higher hardware capabilities. While the frame rate is relatively solid, Ocarina of Time emulation on PC still faces challenges such as visual glitches and overall poor performance. The developer behind Lichii, Zortos293, mentions there are still significant issues to resolve, including excessive fog, overexposed lighting, and overall performance problems.

To play the game on PC via emulator, one must legally own a copy of the title that they've dumped from a jailbroken Switch 2. The details of the online footage remain unclear, but it appears to be legitimate. Meanwhile, Anthropic has reportedly introduced an instruction for Claude to refrain from recreating specific games, even if they are renamed, potentially limiting the rapid growth of retro and modern PC port projects over the past few weeks.