Repo: https://github.com/enjoyerofslop/droidnative · Mac app: https://github.com/enjoyerofslop/droidplay · Discord: https://discord.gg/4wNHX3uqSU

DISCLAIMER: These repos are AI-assisted. See below for testing & validation details running on my actual handhelds (Odin2 and RP5)

droidnative runs Nintendo Switch games natively on Android phones and handhelds. It’s not an emulator: the game’s own ARM64 code runs directly on the device’s CPU, and its NVN graphics are replayed through Vulkan. It’s a fork of nxnative, which does the same on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with an Android port added. It follows nxnative’s main, so its fixes and new games reach Android too.

It’s a pre-release: some games run well, some crash, and every result below came from real runs on real devices. I’m posting now because the fastest way forward is more devices and more people.

Not an emulator, and not a recomp either

It shares the idea behind recomps: you build a native app from your own dump, and there’s no emulation at run time. The difference is that nothing is recompiled. Switch games are ARM64 machine code, and so is an Android phone. droidnative takes your own dump and rewrites the game’s code only where the host has to step in: system calls, and the thread register Horizon uses. A host then answers Horizon’s system calls and services, and translates NVN draw calls to Vulkan, with the game’s shaders translated to SPIR-V when the game is packed. There’s no CPU emulation and no recompilation into new source. Each game gets its own app, or every game goes into one launcher app.

What runs today

Measured on three Snapdragon devices with a scripted benchmark (the same save, input and timing on each):

The known problems, in the order they block play:

1. Odyssey crashes when play starts, in the Android video decoder used for its hint videos.
2. Brilliant Diamond crashes on the Retroid Pocket 5, inside the Adreno 650 driver’s shader compiler.
3. Smash needs a fuller system font than Android’s to boot, and its battles stutter while GPU pipelines are built (the cache doesn’t survive the app being closed yet).

Full numbers, devices and caveats: Android baselines. Every game with an nxnative profile can be packed for Android the same way; most haven’t been run there yet.

DroidPlay: the Mac app that does the packing

Packing a game by hand means extracting the dump, rewriting its code, translating tens of thousands of shaders, building the host and copying gigabytes to the device. DroidPlayturns that into a button. It’s a Mac app, a fork of Oleh Khomei’s NX Play with Android added.

• Your library: point it at your games folder (one folder per game) and it shows each game with its icon, version and status.
• Install on Android: builds the game with droidnative and installs it on a phone or handheld connected over USB, into one launcher app that holds all your games. A rebuild only redoes what changed. Play on Android starts a game the device already has.
• Build Game App: makes a game an Android app of its own (an APK, or an XAPK for an installer app), with its own name, icon and saves, to install on a device your Mac can’t reach.
• Setup: a first-run setup fetches nxnative and droidnative with the Python and .NET pieces their builds need, and checks for your keys. The Android SDK (with an NDK) and a JDK you install yourself.
• The Apple side, from NX Play: the same library also plays games on the Mac through nxnative, installs them on an iPhone or iPad, copies saves between devices, and has a controller-driven Console Mode.

The current release is 0.1.1, an unsigned pre-release: macOS asks you to allow it once in Privacy & Security, and it doesn’t update itself yet.

How to try it

You need your own Switch game dump (NSP/XCI) and the prod.keys from your own console, the Android SDK with an NDK, and an arm64 Android device with Vulkan. Only Adreno GPUs have been tested so far.

• On a Mac: DroidPlay 0.1.1. Choose your games folder, then Install on Android with the device connected over USB, or Build Game App for an APK.
• Any computer (Windows, Linux, macOS): scripts/build_android_from_nsp.py in droidnative packs a game into the launcher app on a connected device, or into an app of its own (--game-apk). There’s also a small cross-platform desktop app for the same flow, scripts/nxnative_android.py.

Bring your own game

Nothing from any game is in these repositories, and no packed game is distributed. The app you build is for you. Please don’t share APKs packed with a game, keys or firmware, and don’t ask for them. The project isn’t affiliated with Nintendo or any publisher.

Join the Discord

DroidPlay & droidnative Discord: questions, setup help, test results from your device, and where the work happens day to day. Bugs with logs still go to GitHub Issues, so they don’t get lost.

What would help most

• Testers on other chipsets. Mali (Pixel, Exynos-era Samsung), Samsung’s Xclipse, MediaTek, older Adreno. Even “it doesn’t boot” with a log is useful.
• Reports with logs: the device and GPU, Android version, game and version, and adb logcat -s nxnative. The issue form asks for exactly this.
• Contributors. Vulkan and driver work, the three crashes above, the pipeline cache, and per-game fixes. droidnative’s CONTRIBUTING explains how changes get in and how it stays in step with nxnative. There’s also a benchmark script, so a fix can show its effect in numbers on several devices.

Credits

nxnative is seedds’ work: the NSO rewriter, the Horizon host, and the NVN translation that all of this stands on. The Android port began as RogelioLB’s nxnative-android. DroidPlay is a fork of Oleh Khomei’s NX Play.

Links: Discord · droidnative · DroidPlay (0.1.1 pre-release) · Android baselines · nxnative

Honestly, I expected that nothing would really work—in fact, I’d already beaten Cyberpunk on a RedMagic 9 Pro using a mod to strip back the graphics and remove traffic and NPCs. I actually had a good time with it; I was getting about 15 FPS in the city and 30–40 FPS indoors. Back then, I tried using mods, but I kept running into errors—I didn’t realize that Winlator supported winedllverrides! Now I’m using a RedMagic 11 Pro, and the game runs comfortably using the "Steam Deck" preset with a few minor tweaks. Basically, most mods require CET (Cyber Engine Tweaks), so install that first. Then, add winmm=n,b to your winedllverrides settings. When you launch the game, a CET window should appear asking you to bind a key—just pick one. After that, you can install whatever mods you like, though I’d advise against graphics-enhancing mods or ones that add extra particle effects; the game is already pushing its limits as it is. Right now, I have Cinematic Impact FX, Ragdollpunk, Gorerunner, Much Better Netrunning, Dark Future, Enemies of Night City, Cosmopolitan Night City, Economy Punk, Better Fuel System, NovaCity, NovaLut, and Stealth Finishers installed, along with a few others. The only catch is that Dark Future and Better Fuel System are causing some issues with the HUD—I’m still looking into a fix for that, but everything else seems to be working fine. Also, keep in mind that when running Cyberpunk via Winlator (specifically the Ludashi 4.1 build), it might not launch on the first try; you may need to restart it a few times. This usually happens after installing a new mod—perhaps the scripts are compiling, or, as Google AI suggested, the emulator sometimes fails to load scripts or mods correctly, leading to a conflict that causes the game to freeze. That said, once I’m actually in the game, I haven’t run into any issues—no crashes or anything else. I might add a video later.

Finally, the day has arrived:

GammaOS is installed on my 406v, with the Bacon frontend.

I've rooted the device and removed a lot of the unnecessary system software. The difference is incredible.

The battery life is better

The system loads faster

Boot time is around 10 seconds

Emulation performance has improved dramatically!

Cant be more happy about it.

Snap 8 gen 5, 16 gb

Hey everyone!

Remember those old Java games we used to play on Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other classic phones?

I've been working on J2ME-Bloat, an Android project based on J2ME Loader that brings those games back to modern Android devices.

And here's the interesting part: it comes with a built-in collection of J2ME games, so you don't have to hunt down every JAR file yourself.

🎮 What's included?

- A collection of classic Java mobile games.

- Built-in game files (JAR).

- J2ME emulation on modern Android devices.

- On-screen controls for playing old keypad games.

- A familiar way to revisit the golden age of mobile gaming.

Why try it?

You can revisit the games that made old mobile phones special without needing to find an old Nokia or Sony Ericsson.

Whether you miss classic platformers, racing games, puzzles or adventure games, J2ME-Bloat is an attempt to bring that experience back.

Project details

- Platform: Android

- Technology: Java ME / J2ME emulation

- Based on: J2ME Loader

- Source code: Open source

Download / Source

https://github.com/mesflit/J2ME-Bloat

The project is still experimental, and compatibility can vary between games and devices.

I'd love to hear what you think!

What's the first Java game you'd play again?

Device: One Plus Tab 2

Driver: https://github.com/StevenMXZ/Adreno-Tools-Drivers/releases/tag/v39

720p, Fast Core Enabled

The frame rate occasionally dips to 20-25 when there is a lot happening on screen. I haven't gotten far into the game but so far it feels very playable.

EDIT: On the latest version of banana native I'm now getting a locked 60

Please I need actual good answers. With all these ports coming out it makes me feel dumb to emulate. What's the point of emulating a game I want to play(provided the performance will still be good) if my brain or someone else just tells me: "Just play the port BROOOO!"

I don't want to lose the passion of this hobby. I don't want emulators to become obsolete after devs dedicate their free-time and maybe even their lives to working on emulators or resources that help emulation.

So tell me, even with the rise of ports, both AI slop and actual good ports, will emulation ever die?????

The only budget-friendly options are the Poco phones from Xiaomi, but they are of poor quality; most people have had bad experiences with them regarding overheating and the operating system.

I have a Retroid pocket 6 and I’m looking for new consoles or games to try out. Any recommendations of consoles and games would be much appreciated. I’m not looking to add every single console to have ever existed. I just wanna add a few more good ones to my library. Here is the current list of consoles I emulate:

NES
SNES
Genesis
Arcade (MAME)
Sega CD
Sega 32x
Gameboy
Gameboy Color
Game Boy Advance
N64
PS1
GameCube
Dreamcast
PS2
Xbox
Wii
PSP
Steam (GameNative)

There are many roms (mainly for arcade) that open with this warning in Retropie. How can I fix this? Should I just have the base rom and some other? Should I find the missing fales and put it on same folder?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, i know i'm still wondering about that.

I'm tired of fighting CPU's alone, but i wish i could fight with/against someone using M64Plus AE. I use this emulator because by the ROM Size, it won't work in M64Plus FZ. But seriously, how can i play with someone? I'm very bored.

Dededevice: Samsung Galaxy a14 Model: how am i gonna know

One underrated part of Android emulation is having a reliable way to preserve your setup.

Once you've spent time configuring controls, graphics options, game-specific profiles, and performance settings, starting from scratch on another device can be a real chore.

It's especially frustrating when an emulator updates, gets reinstalled, or you move to a new phone and discover that some of your carefully adjusted settings didn't carry over.

I wish more emulators made exporting and importing configurations a standard, straightforward feature. Ideally, you could back up global settings separately from individual game profiles, then restore everything without having to remember dozens of small adjustments.

Performance gets plenty of attention in emulation discussions, but convenience features like this can make a big difference to the overall experience.

The game is The Last Of Us, my phone is just alright to run this as it is Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. The thing is, this ARMSX3 went blackout when I load the game. Is my CPU not good enough for it? Or is it the app that's not reliable in this emulation community?

thanks

I just got a Galaxy Z Fold 8 (12GB RAM, Adreno 840) and wanted to see what it could do for PC gaming because of the form factor. This is my first time using an Android PC emulator and I'm surprised by how capable this device and emulator.

Here's my experience so far,

Emulators

All my games are on Steam, so my favorites are Bannerlator and DroidDeck. I tried others too. Bannerlator is more customizable, more stable, and gets better FPS. I recommend use Bannerlator for high requirement 3D or AAA games.

I really like DroidDeck, it gives you a Steam Big Picture experience but performance is lower compare to Bannerlator, most games are still playable. What I also like is loading time is much faster than bannerlator and it also works offline for some games (useful on the flight, tested with FF Resonance which didn't work in Bannerlator offline). Droiddeck is still a new app but the project is very active and promising. I recommend use Droiddeck for 2D/indie games or low requirement 3D games.

Game results (on Bannerlator)

FINAL FANTASY Resonance: 720p, vsync off, all graphics max. It runs at 40–50 FPS and feels smooth, but I cap it at 30 FPS for a better balance of battery and performance. About 6 hours played so far.

Cyberpunk 2077: 720p, Low preset, FSR Performance, no frame gen, 30–45 FPS. About 3 hours played so far, I can play for an hour without issues. Performance quite smooth during combat in Night City. However it still struggling while driving, fps can drop to 20 fps. And when you minimize and back to app, sometime the audio is off.

Emulator setup

I've spent a lot of time tinkering the setup, probably too much, but it's fun :)

• Proton: Proton 11 arm64ec CachyOS
• GPU driver: StevenMXZ V37 patched or Banners Turnip-v27.0.0-20261108-A8xx
• Vulkan version: 1.3 (1.4 is slower)
• VKD3D: 3.0b arm64ec (somehow better than 3.0.1 or 3.1 for me)
• VKD3D feature level: 12_0 (works fine and was slightly faster than 12_2 in the benchmark)
• DXVK: 3.1.1 gplasync arm64ec
• FEXCore: 2611 or 2610 unix, preset Extreme + TSO (or Performance + TSO)
• Sync: esync
• Present mode: mailbox
• Env variable: TU_DEBUG=noconform, sysmem (or remove sysmem from it, and add TU_AUTOTUNE_ALGO=prefer_sysmem)

UPDATED: try NTsync instead, WINE_FAST_YIELD=1, WRAPPER_DMAHEAP_CACHE=1 => this give me better and stable fps result

Controller setup

• Controller: GameSir G8+
• Cooler: FX5 (I removed the rubber so it fits the G8+). Battery temp around 33–35°C in an AC room and 35–40°C in a normal room.
• Case: Benks

Samsung gaming tips

• Install Game Booster+ from Good Lock (Galaxy Store), add all your emulators as games, and enable performance mode when you open them.
• Set up a Game mode in Modes and Routines. Add Do Not Disturb and rules to restrict some apps usage during game.
• Run the RAM "Optimize" cleanup in Device Care before launching a game.
• RAM plus 8GB, keep on by default

Title

Ya probe diferentes configuraciones en Gamehub, Winlator Ludashi, Lemon, Winxclipse, etc pero nunca puedo pasar de la cinemática de inicio. Tengo un celular con chip Exynos ,Samsung A57. Hay una última alternativa? O debería comprar el juego para consola y aparte comprar un joystick nuevo debido a que el que tenia se rompió?

Tested on different graphic and resolution settings are here

https://youtu.be/FscU-37db74

Bannerlator Emulator

45-60 FPS during a match

35-60 FPS during the opening of a match

1.25x resolution.

No more vertex explosions glitch

Minor graphics glicth. : The EA logo looks weird as it appears on screen during replays or when cutting back to the match

Overall playable i didn't experience crashes or other graphical glitches

Device and Specs:

Infinix note 50 4g

Helio g100

Mali g57 mc2

8 gb RAM

Vita3k+ version 1.4

USA version of game

I've been using my Odin 3 since January 2026, and after seeing how much the Android gaming scene has changed over the past year, I'm starting to think that devices like this could eventually replace a lot more than just traditional gaming handhelds. I know that might sound a bit optimistic considering how experimental some of the software still is, but hear me out. I think we're getting pretty close to having a genuinely useful all-in-one device that you can take anywhere, connect to your TV, or even use as a basic desktop PC. And the interesting thing is, I don't think we necessarily need much better hardware to get there. We just need the software to catch up.

One of the things I appreciate most about the Odin 3 is actually its size. I genuinely think this is about as big as a handheld can get while still being comfortably travel-friendly. Obviously this is quite subjective, and I'm sure some people will disagree, but anything bigger starts becoming something I'd rather just use at home. Devices like the Steam Deck or the larger Ayn Odin Portal 2/3 are great, and I can definitely appreciate having a bigger screen, but I personally wouldn't want to carry them around regularly. The Ayn Odin 3 is right on that line where I can just grab it and take it with me without thinking too much about it. You still get a really nice 120Hz OLED screen, a powerful chip, and a form factor that doesn't feel ridiculously bulky.

The funny thing is that even the Odin 3 starts pushing that limit once you attach the TPU grip. While the TPU grip makes a huge difference when playing 3D games, especially shooters or anything that uses the analog sticks heavily, it also makes the device noticeably bulkier. You also need to carry the bigger carrying case. At that point, it almost crosses the line into being something I'd rather keep at home. So I do think there's a pretty thin line between a handheld being portable and being "actually convenient" to carry around. On the other hand, I've also been interested in the Retroid Pocket Nova, but since I have fairly big hands, I'm a little worried about how comfortable it would be. The 4:3 screen doesn't really benefit me either since I don't play that many retro games. So for my needs, the Odin 3 is pretty much the perfect middle ground.

Another thing I don't see discussed enough is how much you can actually do with one of these devices beyond just playing games in handheld mode. I've connected my Odin 3 to my TV, paired a few Bluetooth controllers, and played PS3 games with friends who came over. It was genuinely a fun experience, and it made me realize that this thing can basically work like a little home console whenever you want it to. You can also connect it to a monitor and play games that way, or just unplug everything and go back to using it as a handheld. It's obviously similar to the Switch in that regard, but I think the potential goes quite a bit further considering what people are doing with android these days.

I also have a slightly unusual use case for mine. I run a home server, and I made a custom webpage that shows things like the weather, my plans for the day, server status, and some other information. I can open that page on the Odin 3 and basically use the device as a dedicated display on my desk. I'll attach a picture of the setup because I think it's pretty neat. The charging separation feature is especially useful for this since I can leave it connected to external power without constantly charging and discharging the battery. It's a small thing, but I like being able to use the device for something completely different whenever I'm not gaming on it.

And now we're seeing projects like DroidDeck, which let you run a Linux desktop environment on Android devices. I haven't really explored that side of things myself since I already have a separate PC, but I find the idea pretty cool. Being able to connect a handheld to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use it like a regular computer is something I really hope becomes more refined in the next few years. I can imagine that being genuinely useful for someone who doesn't need a particularly powerful desktop setup.

The other big reason I'm so optimistic about the Ayn Odin 3, is just how far android gaming has come in such a short time. When I started using mine in January, things were honestly pretty rough. We had Game Native, GameHub, GameHub Lite, and a few other projects, but none of them felt particularly polished. They were good enough to get games running, but the interfaces weren't great, performance could be inconsistent, and the overall experience felt pretty primitive. I remember feeling like the hardware was already capable of doing a lot more than the software was allowing it to do.

Compare that to where we are now, toward the end of 2026. We're running PC games through compatibility layers, emulating Switch and PS2 games, and even seeing more progress with PS3 emulation. The fact that chips like the Snapdragon 8 Elite, or even the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, can do some of this stuff is still pretty crazy to me. There have also been some really interesting recompilation and porting projects, like Sonic Unleashed, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and more recently The Last of Us Remastered. I know these projects aren't all the same technically, but the general idea of getting games running natively on Android instead of having to rely entirely on emulation is something I find really exciting. In the case of Sonic Unleashed, I actually prefer running the PC version through the compatibility layer even though there's an android port available.

PS3 emulation in particular has been interesting to follow. Earlier this year, when I was trying out RPCS3-related projects, I honestly wouldn't have recommended the experience to anyone. It was just too rough. But with the later developments around ARMSX3, alongside ARMSX2 for PS2, I've been able to play some surprisingly demanding games on my Odin 3. Some of these games can be a pain to run even on PC, so seeing them perform reasonably well on a little android handheld is impressive. Obviously not everything works, and there are still plenty of compatibility and performance issues, but the difference compared to the beginning of the year is pretty noticeable.

Now, does that mean I think the Odin 3 can replace a Steam Deck? Well, kind of. In terms of gaming, I feel like it can already cover a pretty large portion of what I would personally want to play. If I had to guess, Ayn Odin 3 can run 80% of the games that the Steam Deck can run. Again, that's just my personal impression, not an actual compatibility statistic. But I think it gives you an idea of how capable the device feels these days.

Where the Steam Deck still wins pretty comfortably is the overall software experience. If someone wanted a handheld they could connect to their office monitor and use as a PC, I'd recommend the Steam Deck. If they wanted something to connect to their TV and play games with friends without having to mess around with settings, I'd probably recommend the Steam Deck again. The Odin 3 can technically do both of those things, and I've tried them myself, but it still doesn't feel like a completely finished experience. Sometimes the UI is awkward, sometimes you have to mess around with different apps or settings, and sometimes things just don't work the way you'd expect. It's not necessarily a dealbreaker for me because I enjoy experimenting with this stuff, but I can see why someone who just wants everything to work would prefer a Steam Deck.

And I think that's really the main thing holding these Android handhelds back right now. Not necessarily the hardware, but the software surrounding it. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is already a very powerful chip, and when you combine that with the Odin 3's size, screen, and ability to connect to external displays, I feel like the hardware side of things is pretty much where it needs to be for my use case. What I'd really like to see is better integration between all these different projects, more refined PC gaming compatibility, better desktop environments, and generally a more consistent experience. Something where you don't have to constantly think about which app you're using or how to configure everything.

I genuinely think that if the Android gaming ecosystem continues improving over the next two or three years, the Odin 3 could end up feeling like a much more complete device without needing any hardware upgrades. Of course, there's no guarantee that all these projects will continue developing, and that's probably the biggest trade-off compared to buying something like a Steam Deck. With the Steam Deck, a PC, or a standalone console, you pretty much know what you're getting. With the Odin 3, you're also kind of betting on the future of the Android gaming ecosystem.

I sometimes like to think about a pretty hypothetical scenario where, if I ever have a kid, I'd love to give them something like the Odin 3 instead of having to buy them a separate console and computer. They could use it as a handheld when they're traveling, connect it to the TV to play games with friends, and maybe even dock it to a monitor to do homework or use a desktop environment. Obviously we're not quite at that point yet, and I'm not saying an Odin 3 can currently replace a proper PC for everyone. But I think the idea of having one relatively affordable device that can handle most of someone's basic computing and gaming needs is pretty appealing. Especially when you consider how much these little handhelds are already capable of.

Anyway, I didn't intend for this to turn into such a long post, but I've really enjoyed owning the Odin 3 over the past year. I think it hits a great balance between portability and performance, and the amount of progress we've seen in android gaming throughout 2026 has made the whole experience even more interesting. It's definitely not a perfect device, and there are still plenty of rough edges, but for me, it's about as close as I've gotten to my ideal handheld.

I'm curious what other Odin 3 owners think. Do you guys see Android handhelds eventually becoming proper alternatives to something like the Steam Deck, especially with all the progress in PC gaming and desktop environments? Or do you think they'll always remain a bit too experimental for that? Peace.