Horizon Linux

lastmod 2022-08-17created 2022-08-173 edits

arm64 Linux patched to run Nintendo Switch games

Features

• Patches the arm64 Linux kernel to implement Nintendo's Horizon OS system calls on top of Linux
• Originally started as an attempt to run Switch games in user mode on a Mac, but that proved hard without kernel patches, so it pivoted to this approach
• An attempt to run Switch games natively on any arm64 hardware
  • Distinct from Mesosphere, the open-source Nintendo Switch kernel
• Wrote "Mizu" by taking the Yuzu project and removing its Kerner/CPU emulation parts
• Not finished yet, but succeeded in running its first commercial game, "Puyo Puyo Tetris" (very slow)
  • Kernel patched on a virtualized Fedora Rawhide on a MacBook
  • Yuzu's GPU acceleration requires OpenGL 4.6, but Mac virtual machines only support 4.1~4.3 so far, so GPU acceleration is currently difficult
  • Also ran successfully on the Jetson Nano, the cheapest hardware supporting OpenGL 4.6

See also

• Nintendo Switch
• Yuzu - Nintendo Switch emulator
• Mizu - takes the Yuzu project and removes its Kerner/CPU emulation parts

Favorites ite

• Github - horizon-linux
• Introducing Horizon Linux! : linux_gaming