GTA Vice City Stories Recomp: A PS2 Game Runs Native on PC

By Indie Kings | November 3, 2026

Updated November 3, 2026: GTA Vice City Stories Recomp turns the USA PlayStation 2 disc into a native Windows and Linux build by recompiling the game's executable to C++. Version 0.1.2, published November 2, focuses on the micro-stuttering players reported while driving.

Image: the native launcher for GTA Vice City Stories Recomp. Source: gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp.

A PS2 disc becomes a native PC build

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories never received a PC release. The game shipped on the PlayStation Portable in 2006 and on the PlayStation 2 in 2007, and it has stayed on those platforms since. GTA Vice City Stories Recomp takes a different route from emulation: it reads the game's PS2 executable from your own disc and translates it into C++ that compiles and runs natively on a PC.

The repository contains no game code and no game data. The build reads the executable from a USA ISO of the PS2 release, SLUS-21590, and produces a game that reads everything else from that same disc image while it runs. That keeps the project on the right side of the usual ROM question: you need to own the disc, and nothing is downloaded for you.

The project appeared on October 30, 2026, and has moved quickly. GitHub lists 419 stars, 23 forks, 41 open issues, a GPL-3.0 licence, and a repository size of about 6.7 MB. Five releases landed between October 30 and November 2, and the download counts suggest a lot of people tried each one. The latest release is a Windows zip of about 84 MB that includes the launcher, the build scripts, and the source needed to recompile the game on your machine.

Both platforms are first-class in the build system. Windows renders through Direct3D 11 and Linux renders through Vulkan. The game logic, the audio, the streaming and the mission scripts all run on the PC. There is no compatibility layer and no emulator in the path.

What the port adds beyond the PS2

The default frame rate is 60, with timing that is independent of the frame rate. The original PS2 game ran at 30, and an Authentic preset puts it back there for anyone who wants the original feel. Above 60, the settings offer 100, 120, 144, 165, 240, the display's refresh rate, or uncapped up to 240. The team has put the game's per-frame counters, including vehicle physics and mission timers, on real time so they keep their speed when the frame rate rises.

Widescreen is handled properly. The port renders Hor+ at 16:10, 16:9, 21:9 and 32:9, or matches any window shape between 4:3 and 32:9. You see more at the sides instead of a stretched image. The HUD can stay at 4:3 in the middle, move to the screen edges while keeping its shape, or stretch. Internal resolution runs from 1x, which is 640 by 448, up to 8x, and MSAA goes to 8x with anisotropic filtering up to 16x.

Controls are rebuilt for a PC. Keyboard, mouse and gamepads mix freely, mouse look works on foot, and every binding can be changed with two keys per action. Driving sits on W, S and Space, and a dedicated walk key is available for keyboard players. DualShock 2 rumble is supported up to 200 percent.

The built-in trainer is a bigger addition than it sounds. F5 opens a menu in the style of the Red Dead Redemption 2 native trainer. It covers god mode, health, the wanted level, money, infinite sprint, every weapon, unlimited ammo, all 110 vehicles, teleports to every district, all 59 story missions, side jobs, time of day, weather and game speed. It works through the game's own script commands, and nothing it changes is saved, so a restart returns you to the original game.

Smaller quality-of-life features fill out the package. F2 opens settings for resolution, frame rate, vsync, sound and every input binding. Alt and Enter toggles full screen. F8 saves a PNG screenshot at the window's resolution. F3 shows a performance overlay with CSV recording on F4. Saves use the game's own memory card code and live in the user's local application data folder.

Install, build and the disc check

The launcher is the easy path. Download the newest Windows zip, extract it to a short local path such as C:\Games\VCS, and start VCSLauncher.exe. Avoid Program Files and cloud-synced folders: the build writes thousands of files, and OneDrive or a Desktop folder will make the process slower and more fragile.

The launcher walks through four steps. It asks where the game should be built, finds or accepts your ISO, checks the disc, and installs Microsoft's free C++ build tools if they are missing. That installer is about 6 GB. The build itself recompiles the game from the disc and then compiles it. The first run takes 20 to 60 minutes depending on the machine. Later builds after an update take a few minutes.

There is no hidden download during the build. The release zip brings Python and the libraries the build needs, and the only network use is the optional build-tool installer and the update check. The launcher also backs up and restores saves, creates a desktop shortcut, and packages logs into a report for bug reports. It is unsigned, so Windows will warn that the publisher is unknown; the README explains the More info and Run anyway path.

The disc check is strict. The build wants the USA release with the serial SLUS-21590. If the ISO is from another region, the launcher reports an unsupported executable build or says SLUS_215.90 was not found. The file name normally needs to contain Vice City Stories, such as Grand Theft Auto - Vice City Stories (USA).iso. You can verify the image before building with python tools/vcs_disc.py info.

Linux users can skip the launcher and build by hand. The requirements are clang 19 or newer with lld, glslang, FFmpeg and SDL3 development packages, CMake, Ninja and a Vulkan 1.3 driver. The README gives the full apt command for Ubuntu 24.04 and Linux Mint 22. The recompiled game binary lands in build/vcs, and a desktop shortcut works well. The same release zip contains the full source.

What works and what is still rough

Version 0.1.2 is the most important release so far for moment-to-moment play. It attacks the stutter that appeared when the game entered a new area or crossed between the beach side and the mainland. A single frame could bring in 100 to 400 new textures. Those textures are now decoded faster and created by two helper threads instead of between the frame's draws. With anisotropic filtering on, mipmaps are built on the CPU alongside the textures rather than one at a time on the GPU.

The island crossing still costs one long frame of about 40 ms, but the half-second pause is gone. The fix stops the music before loading the other half of the city and no longer waits for the sound system's next update. The release also speeds up matrix maths, the mission script interpreter, unchanged-model checks and decompression. In an uncapped test drive through the city, the result was about 10 percent faster.

Version 0.1.1 fixed something far more serious: a bug that could delete save games when saving. The release notes say saves lost this way should hopefully be recovered the next time the game starts. Anyone who used 0.1.0 should update before playing further. Version 0.1.0 had already rebuilt the launcher from scratch as a native Direct3D 11 app, added the F8 screenshot key, fixed free aim in two missions, and repaired a start-up crash on Windows accounts with Cyrillic characters.

The project is still in development, and the issue count shows it. The progress document tracks what works, and the README warns that some behaviour at high frame rates is still being fixed. The safest way to play is the 60 fps default with the Enhanced preset, then raise the frame rate once a mission or area has behaved normally. The trainer and the display options are optional layers, and the Authentic preset is there when you want to see the original game.

Download counts are from the GitHub API on November 3, 2026. They count asset downloads, not unique players.

FAQ

Do I need to own the PS2 game?
Yes. The repository ships no game code or data. The build reads the executable from your own USA ISO, and the finished game reads the rest of its data from that image while it runs.

Does it work with the PSP version?
No. The project targets the PlayStation 2 USA release, serial SLUS-21590. Other regions and the PSP release are not supported by the build.

Is this an emulator?
No. The PS2 executable is recompiled into C++ and built as a native program. Windows uses Direct3D 11, Linux uses Vulkan, and there is no emulator or compatibility layer running the game.

Can I play at 120 or 240 fps?
The settings offer those rates, and timing is frame-rate independent. Some behaviour at very high frame rates is still being fixed, so the 60 fps default is the safer choice for a full playthrough.

Does the PC port add new content?
No. It adds display, input, performance and trainer options, but the missions, vehicles, map and story are the original game. The Authentic preset returns the presentation to the PS2 version.

Is the launcher signed?
No. Windows may warn that the publisher is unknown. The README tells users to choose More info and then Run anyway, and the full source and manual build scripts are included for anyone who prefers not to run the launcher.

Bottom Line

GTA Vice City Stories Recomp is the most interesting kind of fan project: a game that never had a PC version, running natively on PC because its own code was translated rather than emulated. The 0.1.2 release makes the driving noticeably smoother, and 0.1.1 removed a save bug serious enough to justify updating immediately. The feature set is generous, with proper widescreen, high frame rates, rebindable controls and a deep trainer.

The caveats are real. You need the correct USA disc, the first build takes up to an hour, the launcher is unsigned, and 41 open issues mark a project that is still in development. High frame rates can expose behaviour that has not been fixed yet. None of that changes the core result: a 2007 handheld and console title now has a native Windows and Linux build that feels like a PC game.

Our take: if you own the USA PS2 disc, this is worth a careful install and a 60 fps first run. Keep the launcher folder local, let the build finish, and update to 0.1.2 before you start a serious save. Treat the trainer and the high frame rates as experiments once the base game is stable.

Sources

• GitHub gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp README, features, installation, disc requirements, controls and performance notes, accessed November 3, 2026
• GitHub releases 0.1.0, 0.1.1 and 0.1.2, release notes and asset sizes, published October 31 to November 2, 2026, accessed November 3, 2026
• GitHub API metadata for gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp, stars, forks, open issues, creation date, language, size and licence, accessed November 3, 2026
• GitHub release download counts for versions 0.0.2 through 0.1.2, accessed November 3, 2026

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