ly05010419/macnativegames is a project that runs the ARM64 code of Nintendo Switch games directly on Apple silicon Macs, iPhone and iPad, and reimplements graphics behavior with Metal. The latest release is v2026.10.25. However, the provided information does not list what changed in this version. The repository description and documents let you check the build procedure and implementation overview for the macOS app and the iOS and iPadOS app.
This project reimplements the behavior of NVN, the Switch's graphics interface, in Metal, Apple's graphics technology. It is not emulation that converts game code into a different format, but a method that runs ARM64 code directly on the device. The support status for two Zelda titles and the progress of several community ports are listed separately in the documents. The repository is classified as written in C, is released under the MIT license, and also provides documentation on automated testing and diagnostics. The GitHub repository shows 7,140 stars.
Running requires the game files the user owns personally and system data extracted from the device. The repository states that it does not distribute game content or keys. Because the support status per game and the degree of community port progress are not the same, it is hard to view this project as a finished general-purpose runtime environment. The provided information contains no performance figures or benchmarks, so the actual scope of what can be run and its performance should be judged based on the support status listed in the documents.