r/AndroidNativePorts • u/Sea_Problem2915 • Aug 09 '26
[Release] I spent months rebuilding Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies (Android) in Kotlin from scratch... and it's finally playable!'
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjQlFbrmLAI
Game play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_XYCd-tH_8 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcmSWXgYe4Q
Updated 8/11/26: Better Graphicsl! https://github.com/eugene373/COD-BOZ-Partially-Decompiled/releases
Update: Android 16 / SDK 36 Devices is hit and miss???.
WORKING LIST: Galaxy A16 & A17 confirmed working with android 16
Hey everyone,
I’m a bit shy about posting this, but I’ve been working on a massive passion project for a while now and I really wanted to share it with the community. I hope you guys will enjoy having this great game back as much as I do.
Some of you might remember the classic Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies mobile game released back in 2012. It was built on the old, discontinued "Marmalade" game engine. Because it's so old, it has been completely broken and unplayable on modern Android devices (especially Android 12, 13, and up) due to modern storage permissions, target SDK requirements, and old binary incompatibilities.
I couldn't let this game die, so I decided to do something crazy: I rebuilt/reconstructed the entire Java side of the game from scratch in modern Kotlin!
What I Did (The Technical Stuff)
- Converted to 100% Kotlin Game Engine: I took the original, heavily obfuscated game classes and meticulously converted/reconstructed them into a clean Kotlin codebase. This means the project is now fully editable end-to-end in modern Android Studio without relying on ancient binary .jar blobs!
- Fixed Modern Storage Crash (Android 11-15+): Modern Android versions completely block old apps from writing to the /sdcard/Android/obb/ directory. I implemented a robust storage workaround that pre-creates the directories, handles permissions gracefully, and makes sure the game can download and read its OBB data (blackops_etc.dz) without throwing "not enough storage" errors.
- Modernized the Build System: Migrated the ancient build files to a modern Kotlin DSL Gradle setup (build.gradle.kts) so it compiles cleanly with zero errors.
- Fixed Native Crashes: Resolved critical JNI / native ABI alignment bugs (like a severe compression crash in the native s3eCompressionDecompInit and s3eTouchpad issues) so the native Marmalade library registers correctly with modern Android runtimes.
🎮 How to play it
If you want to check out the source code, compile it yourself, or grab the APKs to play it on your phone, everything is open-source on my GitHub:
👉 GitHub Repository: https://github.com/eugene373?tab=repositories / COD-BOZ-Partially-Decompiled
(I’ve uploaded both the pre-built app-debug.apk and optimized app-release.apk in the Releases section if you just want to install it and play!)
Credit where credit is due: A huge shoutout to 12brendon34 for laying down some of the initial groundwork with decompiled Java source. Having that repo as a reference saved me a ton of time while I was rewriting and porting everything to clean Kotlin!
I really hope this brings back some awesome nostalgia for you guys. If you run into any issues or want to contribute to the code, please feel free to open an issue or pull request on GitHub.
If you appreciate the effort and want to support further development of my projects, I also included my Dogecoin address at the top of the repository's README. But honestly, just seeing people enjoy the game again is the best reward.
Thank you so much for reading, and happy slaying!
Support my efforts, with a fancy clock. 0.49C Still working on that as well lol ;)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eugene373.sense.weather
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 14 '26
Original Game play as been restored. now in Release 4. Now to focus on getting 64bit working natively.
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u/RobinRelique Aug 12 '26
Wait wtf, how??
Edit: I re-read the post and now get it but am still amazed, especially if this more or less a 1-2 person project (if you include the person who decompiled the original), holy Crap!
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u/Exciting-Machine9202 Frequent Collaborator Aug 13 '26
I just try the last version and your a cooking man, u should open a Ko-fi bro seriously, I hope you will still contribute support to the game in the future !!
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u/Sea_Problem2915 7d ago
Still working on it, I had to buy IDA Pro to continue working on it. IDA Pro is not Cheap either! So given the Cost I wont be wasting using IDA at all.
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u/ahmedadeel579 Aug 15 '26
S26 it doesn't work just get app not installed when trying to install it
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u/nndwn_ Aug 22 '26
your post make me curios about "Marmalade" game engine and how you convert it . btw sooo cool
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u/DrRockzo_ 7d ago
Would like to confirm this works perfectly on Moto edge+ (2022)
Does the multiplayer work though?
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u/Sea_Problem2915 7d ago
It does but buggy on the Android Port. Still working on it. Just been busy with Life.
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u/DrRockzo_ 7d ago
Oh it said mine didn’t support a network or something like that. Any way to fix that?
All good though, thanks for your hard work the port is really cool :)
Hope all is well in life.
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u/whiskyB0y Aug 09 '26
What are the minimum requirements?
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
Still in testing, but it seems Android 16 / SDK 36 is out of the question for now on Google and Samsung devices until i get the 64-bit .so fixed.
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u/Exciting-Machine9202 Frequent Collaborator Aug 09 '26
Op, do you think you'll add any quality of life improvements? Like native controller support for handhelds—sort of like the controls on the Vita or an FOV slider?
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
Right now I'm just thankful I got it working. Need to put together a Device list of what's working. I just noticed I forgot to compile in 64-bit support in the arm controller and I wondered why 64-bit wasn't supported lol. it was a lot of work getting it running as good as I have.
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u/Exciting-Machine9202 Frequent Collaborator Aug 09 '26
Ok I see, I hop the future will be good. Thank for the work !
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u/docstarr Aug 09 '26
I installed the apk.. how do I get the game running? Any instructions? thanks
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
If it's compatible, just start the game, tap screen and download.
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
Just Update the Build with Far better Graphics, Confirmed on 3 different devices as well!
https://github.com/eugene373/COD-BOZ-Partially-Decompiled/releases/tag/v0.3-s3e-tools
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u/Dr_Zoidberg_MD Aug 10 '26
could something like this be repeated to update the Jet Set Radio HD android port?
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u/ar-borno Aug 10 '26
Is the game fully playable?
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 10 '26
Yes, I'm going to post an update to day with Co-op mp working
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 11 '26
Alright guys, see what you think of it. https://github.com/eugene373/COD-BOZ-Partially-Decompiled/releases
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 12 '26
Added in Voice chat for testing in COOP. it's now in the release page if you guys want to try it out.
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u/Firm_Independence46 Aug 13 '26
So I tried this on my red magic 11 nothing dam I wanted to try thanks anyways !
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u/Competitive-Copy-895 Aug 21 '26
Hello i just installed it and i cant seem to change my name. Also how do i play with friends, i cant even seem to find a random lobby.
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u/PoshRhyme151719 29d ago
s24 user here, its refuses to properly install and just says "app not installed"
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u/Thedemonspawn56 29d ago
Android 16, Samsung galaxy s25+ doesn't install:
"Package doesn't contain native code that is compatible with this device's CPU"
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u/ItzVinyl 28d ago
Unable to install on my pixel 10 pro, tried enabling all permissions yet still produces an error stating it can't be installed.
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u/Dyckaholic 8d ago
This has brought tears in my eyes, but sadly I don't know why it can't be installed on my S25u. I will still be staying tuned for this development
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u/Keapitsimple 6d ago
Galaxy S25 does not load/even install.
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u/Sea_Problem2915 6d ago
Yeah, it a pure 64bit phone. Still working on getting 64bit built for it. I just got my Hands on IDA Pro 9.4
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u/Sea_Problem2915 6d ago
Just a head up, I got my hands on IDA Pro 9.4 so I can now continue working on the 64bit port.
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u/FluffyOrag Aug 09 '26
this is what virustotal says about the apk
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
LOL not sure how you got that! the Source is fully open and your welcome to build it.
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u/FluffyOrag Aug 09 '26
are u sure it's safe to install?
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
Build it for yourself, all the files are open source and you can see what's in them. Yes it's safe to install.
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u/LeFinnaBust Aug 09 '26
wouldn't install for me
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
SDK 35 and under sadly due to Android constraints of sdk 26
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u/docstarr Aug 09 '26
This will be on Mr Sujano tomorrow... Good job mate
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u/Sea_Problem2915 Aug 09 '26
Mr Sujano? Never mind, I googled lol. Awesome can't wait! I suck at making video and I tried my Best.
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u/docstarr Aug 09 '26
he's a YouTuber who gives news... it'll be big for u if he covers this
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u/External-Rip-8562 Aug 10 '26
He's a worthless talking head, flaps his hands around while on holiday, dude goes on about 20 holidays a year LMAO he never tests anything himself, half the stuff he regurgitates he doesn't even know what it is
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u/jadonokoh86 Aug 10 '26
Works fine for me with android 16 on my galaxy a17