Nintendo Switch 2 game runs on iPhone

A video posted on October 28 showed Mario Kart World, a game exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2, running directly on an iPhone 18 Pro. The game did not use cloud computing and instead ran on Apple's chip, bypassing the need for an emulator.

nxnative enables direct execution

The project that made this possible is called nxnative, developed by a programmer known as seedds and published under the MIT license on GitHub. It uses a method originally designed for Diablo II: Resurrected and relies on the shared ARM64 architecture of Apple and Nintendo chips.

Technical compatibility and limitations

The project allows Switch games to run on Mac or iPhone by rewriting their code and converting them into applications. Some games, such as Super Mario Odyssey, run at 60 frames per second on Mac, faster than the 30 FPS limit on the Switch. However, bugs often arise from translation layers that convert the Switch’s graphical interface and shaders.

Jailbreak enables homebrew

A full software jailbreak for the Nintendo Switch 2, called ns2jb, was released on October 22 by researcher Sammy Hajhamid. A homebrew launcher was running within 24 hours, allowing users to run unofficial software on the console.

Legal and technical challenges

Running Switch games on non-Nintendo devices raises legal concerns, as bypassing technical protections is prohibited under the French Intellectual Property Code. Nintendo has taken action against emulator projects, removing 401 repositories from GitHub in August 2025. While nxnative has not yet faced similar scrutiny, Nintendo is actively monitoring related developments.

Hardware and setup requirements

To use nxnative, users need a Mac with an Apple chip running macOS 26.6 or newer, along with Xcode, Homebrew, and Python. For iPhones, a sideload tool like AltStore is required, and the device must have an A17 Pro or newer chip. The process involves compiling the game, which can take up to an hour, and requires a hacked Switch 2 to obtain the necessary encryption keys.