MacNativeGames (Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Mac)

Breath of the Wild came out in 2017 on Switch and Wii U. MacNativeGames started on 17 October 2026 with Tears of the Kingdom; Breath of the Wild 1.6.0 was added on 20 October, and 1.9.0 the same day through a contributor’s pull request. The README calls both “early”.

This site is not affiliated with the MacNativeGames developers or with Nintendo.

What it is

The same method as the Tears of the Kingdom port. The Switch and Apple silicon both use ARM64, so the game’s own code runs directly on the Mac. A few instructions macOS does not allow are rewritten ahead of time on your Mac, a host stands in for the Switch’s operating system, and the game’s NVN graphics are replayed on Metal 4. It is not an emulator and it only runs the games it was written for.

What you need

• Your own game files:
  • 1.6.0: a card image (XCI) that holds the base game, the 1.6.0 update and the two DLC packs, or a separate base NSP or XCI plus the 1.6.0 update NSP or NSZ.
  • 1.9.0: your base game NSP plus the 1.9.0 update NSP; each DLC pack is optional and comes from its own NSP.
  • prod.keys from your own Switch, and the six system fonts from an unpacked firmware (or from a Tears of the Kingdom build’s work folder).
  • We do not explain how to dump or obtain files.
• A Mac: Apple silicon on macOS 26 or newer, with Metal 4. 16 GB of memory is recommended, and a lot of free disk space (the 15 GB game data is merged during the build).
• Tools: the Xcode command line tools, Homebrew and Python 3.14, with an internet connection for build dependencies.

How it is built and installed

The same script as for Tears of the Kingdom, build_app.py, recognises the game by the title IDs in your file and makes Breath of the Wild.app, which you open from Finder. Each step is checked against hashes for the selected version. A fresh 1.6.0 build takes about 16 minutes on an M4. The README doesn’t mention an Apple developer account for the Mac build.

What works

• 1.6.0 (tested 20 October on an M4 Mac): title, loading and saving, the Great Plateau at about 90 to 120 fps, a 30-minute session with steady memory, the DLC packs loaded, MetalFX frame interpolation and 2K upscaling.
• 1.9.0 (tested on an M1 Pro Mac with a 120 Hz display): saves, autosaves, a route from the Shrine of Resurrection to the Hyrule Castle exit at about 58 to 81 fps with a warm shader cache, a 25-minute run in Korok Forest, a DLC quest starting, native 1080p docked rendering, a 21:9 ultrawide view and MetalFX anti-aliasing.
• Not yet: native 2K, iPhone and iPad, the DLC quests checked through to the end, and a bug where Link’s legs sink into a stone path after loading one Great Plateau save. New areas stutter while their shaders compile. Expect rough edges.

Is it official, and will it stay up?

• This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. The README says the repository has no game content, and there are no releases: the game code only ends up in the app you build on your own Mac.
• We found no takedown. On 22 October 2026 the repository was online and GitHub’s public DMCA archive had no notice naming it. The project needs prod.keys and includes Ryujinx code, and Nintendo sent notices against Ryujinx copies on 1 October 2026, so it may not stay up. See the Tears of the Kingdom entry for more on the project.
• Get it only from the official repository.

Was it made with AI?

Mostly. About two thirds of the project’s commits carry a “Co-Authored-By: Claude” line, and the README recommends using an AI assistant to build the app.

Other Breath of the Wild projects

• Breath of the Wild on PC: looking for Windows or Linux? Savage Wind Recomp is a native PC port of the Switch version 1.8.2, in alpha since October 2026.
• zeldaret/botw is a decompilation of the Switch version 1.5.0: a reverse-engineering project, not something you can play.

Related

• Tears of the Kingdom on Mac and iPhone: the same project’s main port.
• The Wind Waker on PC and Ocarina of Time on PC: other Zelda games as native ports.
• Diablo II: Resurrected on iPhone and Mac: the project this method comes from.
• More Apple-device ports: iPhone and Mac ports.

Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Nintendo or Yong Li (ly05010419) and contributors (MacNativeGames (Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Mac)'s author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.