Nintendo’s popular titles, including Super Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, can now run natively on the Apple TV 4K through a new AI-assisted software port. Developed by a Reddit user known as FloatingFalafel, the open-source project is called TVPort.
TVPort functions as a fork of the nxnative toolkit, utilizing Claude Opus 5.5 to recompile Nintendo Switch games on a Mac so they can operate on Apple’s streaming box. According to the creator, Super Mario Odyssey achieves a smooth 60 frames per second (fps), while Animal Crossing: New Horizons runs at 30 fps. Although additional titles have not yet been tested, the open-source software is publicly available for users to experiment with other games.
[Release] TVPort – Port switch games to run natively on AppleTV (4k 3rd gen)
byu/FloatingFalafel indecomps
Running these titles requires users to supply their own game files extracted from physical cartridges using a modified Nintendo Switch, as game files are not bundled with the software. Furthermore, hardware limitations may restrict performance. More demanding titles, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, could face thermal throttling issues on the third-generation Apple TV 4K. However, the upcoming fourth-generation Apple TV 4K—scheduled to launch commercially on November 13—may handle heavier workloads that current hardware cannot support.
The project also faces potential legal scrutiny given Nintendo’s history with unofficial software. Nintendo actively protects its intellectual property, exemplified by its 2024 lawsuit against the Yuzu emulator team, which concluded with a $2.4 million settlement and the discontinuation of the project. Because of these enforcement measures, the longevity of TVPort remains uncertain.
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