Arizona Vamp Recomp (Darkwatch PC port)

Darkwatch, High Moon Studios’ 2005 vampire western shooter published by Capcom, came out on the original Xbox and PlayStation 2 and never on PC. In mid-October 2026 several people used new Xbox recompilation tools on it within a few days: Darker Edition appeared on 18 October, Arizona Vamp Recomp’s first public beta on 20 October. We found no press coverage yet.

This site is not affiliated with Clergyman0013, linkssy2, High Moon Studios or Capcom.

What it is

• A static recompilation: Arizona Vamp Recomp uses TGP482’s XboxXBERecomp SDK, the same one behind the BLACK PC port, to translate every function in the game’s Xbox executable (default.xbe) into C++ and compile it for x86-64. There is no CPU emulation and no JIT.
• Xbox libraries replaced: the Xbox kernel, Direct3D 8, DirectSound, XInput and the file system are reimplemented on Windows. Graphics run on Direct3D 12 with a shader cache, sound (including XACT audio) on XAudio2.
• Built on your PC: the release ships the recompiler and a compiler (Clang and LLD) instead of the game code. The first start builds the game’s code from your own copy behind a progress window, once.
• Extras, according to the README:
  • two-player split-screen co-op campaign, the PS2 feature the Xbox disc kept but switched off (both players currently look like the single-player hero)
  • display modes, render scale 25 to 200%, frame-rate cap, V-Sync and MSAA up to 8x
  • field of view 55 to 110 (80 by default), widescreen framing instead of a stretched 4:3 picture, reticle size, 16x anisotropic filtering, optional PS2-style alpha blending
  • keyboard and mouse with direct aiming and rebinding, mouse in the game’s menus, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch controllers with matching button prompts
  • the War Train chapter and Splitter grenades that the Xbox disc leaves off, on by default
  • a PC SETTINGS page inside the game’s own menus (in place of Xbox Live), plus an F1 overlay, and Quit to Desktop
  • fixes such as scripted doors and enemies freezing above 100 FPS

It works like the other Xbox recompilations in our recompiled games list.

Current status

The README says the game boots, plays its movies and goes through the menus into the campaign at 60 FPS or more, with sound, lighting, fog and the HUD close to the console. Testers have reached the first chapter’s boss fight on the train; 0.5.4 fixed a rare crash there. Co-op has been tested to the start of the first chapter. Builds have come almost daily, and the repository had three open bug reports (crashes on launch and in game, and a black screen under Proton on Linux) when we checked. The F4 key saves a bug report folder for the developer.

What you need

• Your own copy of Darkwatch for the original Xbox, USA release: a disc image (.iso), or default.xbe with the game’s folders beside it. We don’t explain how to obtain or copy game data.
• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, a GPU with Direct3D 12, and about 3 GB free space.
• For co-op: a second controller (player 1 can use keyboard and mouse).
• To build from source: Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ tools, Git and your game files; the first build takes 30 to 90 minutes.

How to install (overview)

The README has the exact steps; in short: download the zip from the official Releases page, unpack it, put your disc image or game files in the assets folder and run Darkwatch.exe. The first start builds the game code, which takes a while; after that it starts straight away, and the first start after an update rebuilds once. Saves stay in the game folder (hdd\E).

Arizona Vamp Recomp, Darker Edition and Darkwatch Recompiled

Three separate GitHub projects port the Xbox Darkwatch to Windows. They are by different people and none is a fork of another.

• Darkwatch: Darker Edition came first. It has a launcher that imports and checks your North American Xbox ISO or XISO (it rejects other revisions), an optional HD gameplay texture pack (about 4.8 GB in five parts), restored HD menus and HUD, and lets you play as Jericho, Cassidy or Spectral Cassidy, alone or in beta co-op. It needs Windows 10 version 1903 or later, .NET Framework 4.8, an x86-64-v2 CPU and a Direct3D 12 GPU; the 0.5.5 package is a Linux test that runs the Windows build through Proton. Its README says the player program contains recompiled game code, unlike Arizona Vamp Recomp’s release, and that its launcher cover art was edited with an image generator. Arizona Vamp Recomp credits Darker Edition’s feature list and findings as its leads, with its own code.
• Darkwatch Recompiled has “PS5” in its name and description, but its README describes a native Windows port with a Vulkan renderer that you build from your own disc. It lists lightmaps, detail and environment maps, mipmaps and multiplayer as not done. The repository was last updated on 18 October 2026, its release has no download, and a 39 MB darkwatch.exe was committed to the repository itself, which sits oddly with the README’s “no game code” statement. We would treat it as an early experiment.

Is it official, and will it stay up?

• All three are unofficial fan projects, not affiliated with or endorsed by Capcom or High Moon Studios.
• We found no takedown. On 24 October 2026 the repositories and their releases were online.
• Arizona Vamp Recomp’s repository and release contain no game code or data, according to its README and release notes; Darker Edition’s Windows program does contain recompiled game code, which makes it more exposed if the rights holder objects.
• Get the ports only from their official GitHub repositories. Sites offering a ready-made “Darkwatch PC download” with the game included, keys or “unlocked” installers are not connected to these projects and often carry malware.

Not working?

If Darkwatch.exe closes on launch, check that your GPU supports Direct3D 12 and that your files are from the USA Xbox release, then press F4 in game (if it gets that far) and attach the zipped report folder to an issue on the official repository. Don’t attach game files. Under Linux, Proton is untested; a black-screen fix is in, and reports are welcome. Other Xbox games that run natively on PC: BLACK, Call of Duty 3, Burnout 3 and MVP Baseball 2005.

Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Capcom (developed by High Moon Studios) or Clergyman0013 (Arizona Vamp Recomp (Darkwatch PC port)'s author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.