TotK Recomp: Tears of the Kingdom Runs Native at 60 FPS

By Indie Kings | November 2, 2026

Updated November 2, 2026: TotK Recomp turns The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom into a native x86-64 Windows and Linux application, built from the player's own game files and running without an emulator. The project has 3,576 stars, six releases since October 29, and 21,399 downloads of its latest build.

Image: GitHub social preview card for the TotK Recomp repository.

A native build, not an emulator

TotK Recomp is a static recompilation of Tears of the Kingdom for Windows and Linux. The README describes the result as a native x86-64 application with a Vulkan renderer, not an emulator. The game's own code is translated ahead of time; the PC is not pretending to be a Switch while the game runs.

The project does not include game files. A player needs a legally obtained copy of Tears of the Kingdom, dumped from their own console, including the base game and the 1.1.0, 1.2.1 or 1.4.3 update. The installer builds the game from those files on the player's machine. The README says the result contains the game, is for the player's own use, and should not be shared.

That legal boundary is the whole distribution model. The repository ships an installer and code, not a playable copy. There is no download link for the game, and the README says instructions for obtaining those files will not be provided. Anyone who wants to try the port still has to own the Switch game and a way to dump it.

The project is early. The README says the game is playable on Windows and Linux, with visual bugs and crashes still expected. It has 175 open issues, which is a useful signal for anyone deciding whether to treat this as a daily driver or a weekend experiment. The repository has 3,576 stars, 291 forks and an MIT license for its own code, with third-party components keeping their own terms.

Support covers three game versions. Updates 1.1.0, 1.2.1 and 1.4.3 are listed, and saves from 1.2.1 and 1.4.3 carry over between those versions. The installer rebuilds the game when it updates, so the port is tied to the exact files a player supplies rather than a single universal executable.

The installer and the hardware bill

The Windows requirements are specific. The README asks for Windows 10 or later, an x86-64 CPU with SSE4.2, and a GPU with Vulkan 1.3 plus VK_EXT_external_memory_host. Machines with AVX2 and FMA get a faster build. Setup needs about 36 GiB free and leaves an install of about 20 GiB.

The Linux requirements add a modern base. The README lists Linux 6.7 or later and glibc 2.34 or later, which covers Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 35 and SteamOS 3. The Linux release is an AppImage, and the README tells Steam Deck users to run it in Desktop Mode. The setup builds the game once, then the player launches totk.exe on Windows or totk on Linux.

The port supports 60 fps by default, with an experimental option for up to 144 fps or the monitor's refresh rate. It also lists custom resolutions, supersampling, AMD FSR 1 upscaling, HDR10 output, anisotropic filtering up to 16x, and aspect ratios for 16:10, 21:9 and 32:9 displays. The camera and interface are drawn in the selected shape rather than stretched from 16:9.

Controls include keyboard, mouse and gamepad support, remapping, rumble and gyro. The port uses Xbox button prompts and lets the player choose the button layout. A settings menu opens with F1 and a performance overlay with F10. Shaders are prepared at install time instead of during play, which removes a common source of stutter but adds to setup time.

Steam Deck support is present but cautious. Version 0.2.1 set defaults for the handheld: fullscreen, 1280x800, vsync and a 40 fps limit. The release notes say those values are starting points and had not been measured on a Deck at the time. A Deck owner should expect to tune settings rather than assume a console-like experience.

Six releases in four days

The release cadence is the clearest sign of how fast this project is moving. The first public build, v0.1.1, arrived on October 29. By November 1, the project had shipped v0.3.1. In between came Windows-only builds, Linux support, ultrawide fixes, a critical save fix and a mod system. The table below lists the six releases and their asset sizes.

Version	Date	Windows	Linux	Downloads
v0.1.1	October 29	135.2 MB	None	24,216
v0.1.6	October 30	135.2 MB	None	3,768
v0.1.9	October 31	135.3 MB	None	7,222
v0.2.1	October 31	135.4 MB	220.7 MB	9,279
v0.2.8	October 31	135.5 MB	220.5 MB	20,424
v0.3.1	November 1	145.3 MB	228.9 MB	21,399

The download counts are combined across each release's assets, as reported by GitHub on the morning of November 2. They measure downloads, not unique players, and an update can be downloaded more than once. The v0.3.1 figures are the strongest recent signal: more than 21,000 downloads in less than a day.

Version 0.2.8 was the emergency release. Its notes say every player on 0.2.1 or older should update because of bugs that could lose saves, block the "Camera Work in the Depths" quest, leave equipment locked after a Fuse, crash at startup on unusual system fonts, or crash after the virtual core gate setting was changed. The save bug was the serious one: if another program held a file in the save folder, every save in a session could fail without a message, and the next start could delete progress.

Version 0.3.1 added mod support. RomFS mods, TKMM merged output, ExeFS code patches in .ips, IPS32 and .pchtxt formats, and Atmosphère cheats are listed as supported. A Mods tab in the F1 menu lets the player enable, disable and reorder mods. The release notes are candid that not every mod works yet, and that code plugins such as subsdk files are not supported.

Mods, HDR and the AI-written codebase

The feature list is unusually complete for a project this young. HDR10 output includes peak, game and HUD brightness settings. The port supports 16:10 for handhelds, 21:9 and 32:9 for ultrawide monitors, and custom resolutions including 1080p and 2K. FSR 1 is available for upscaling, and anisotropic filtering goes up to 16x. The in-game menu and overlay are translated into English, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese.

The mod system lets the port reuse years of existing work. Tears of the Kingdom has a large emulator modding scene, and the port accepts mods made for Ryujinx, yuzu and the Switch's SD card layout. That gives the project a library it did not have to build. The release notes warn that mods which grow files need the resource size table merged at start, and the port does that automatically for enabled mods.

The development model is also part of the story. The README says most of the code and documentation is written by AI coding agents, specifically Claude Code, under the maintainer's direction. The maintainer plays every build and decides what is merged. That disclosure is rare in a project with this much attention, and it explains how six builds landed in four days.

The legal position is explicit. The project calls itself independent and non-commercial, and says it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. The MIT license covers the project's own code and grants nothing for Nintendo's game. The README tells players not to share the built result. Those statements do not settle copyright questions, but they define the project's boundary: it distributes a tool, not a game.

Quality is still uneven. The README says visual bugs and crashes are expected, and the issue count is high. The rapid releases fix real problems, but they also mean the current build is a moving target. A player who wants a stable, console-like experience should wait; a player who enjoys testing and reporting bugs is the intended audience.

FAQ

Is TotK Recomp an emulator?
No. It is a static recompilation. The game's code is translated into a native x86-64 application with a Vulkan renderer. The project does not emulate Switch hardware while the game runs.

Does it include the game?
No. The repository ships an installer and code. A player must supply their own legally obtained copy of Tears of the Kingdom and one of the supported updates. The README says instructions for obtaining those files will not be provided.

Which game versions work?
Updates 1.1.0, 1.2.1 and 1.4.3 are supported. Saves from 1.2.1 and 1.4.3 carry over between those versions. The installer rebuilds the game from the files the player supplies.

What PC do I need?
Windows 10 or later, an x86-64 CPU with SSE4.2, and a GPU with Vulkan 1.3 plus VK_EXT_external_memory_host. Linux needs kernel 6.7 or later and glibc 2.34 or later. Setup needs about 36 GiB free and leaves about 20 GiB installed.

Does it run on Steam Deck?
Yes, through the Linux AppImage. Version 0.2.1 added Deck defaults of fullscreen, 1280x800, vsync and a 40 fps limit. The release notes say those defaults had not been measured on a Deck, so expect to tune them.

Can I use mods and cheats?
Yes. Version 0.3.1 added RomFS mods, TKMM output, ExeFS code patches and Atmosphère cheats. The Mods tab lets you enable, disable and reorder them. Not every mod works yet, and code plugins are not supported.

Bottom Line

TotK Recomp is a native x86-64 port of Tears of the Kingdom for Windows and Linux, built from the player's own game files. It has 3,576 stars, 291 forks and 175 open issues, and it shipped six releases between October 29 and November 1. The latest v0.3.1 build had 21,399 downloads by the morning of November 2. It supports 60 fps by default, HDR10, ultrawide resolutions, FSR 1 and a growing mod system.

The project is early and the README says so. Crashes and visual bugs are expected, the issue list is long, and the save bug in older builds is a reminder that rapid releases can break as much as they fix. The legal boundary is clear: no game files are included, and players need their own dump. The AI-heavy development model is disclosed, not hidden.

Our take: this is the most interesting Tears of the Kingdom project since the emulator era, but it is not a finished product. If you already own the game, can dump it and enjoy testing, the installer is worth a look. If you want a stable 60 fps replay today, wait for the issue count to fall and the save path to settle. The pace of releases suggests that wait may not be long.

Sources

GitHub valentderah/totk-pc-recomp README, status, features, installing, requirements, credits and license, accessed November 2, 2026
GitHub releases v0.1.1 through v0.3.1, release notes, asset sizes and download counts, accessed November 2, 2026
GitHub API metadata for valentderah/totk-pc-recomp, stars, forks, open issues, creation date, last push, language and license, accessed November 2, 2026
GitHub commit history for valentderah/totk-pc-recomp, commits through November 1, 2026, accessed November 2, 2026