Modder brings The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Windows with an unofficial native port

Modder NotRexed has released SkyboundTOTK, an unofficial native Windows port of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Rather than relying on a Nintendo Switch emulator, the project recompiles the 2023 game's original machine code to run directly on PC processors. Available as a source-only dev and beta release, the project adds AMD's FSR 1 upscaling, experimental frame interpolation, ultrawide display modes, and support for mouse and keyboard alongside gamepads. [1][2]

Because the project is distributed only as source code, players must compile it themselves on Windows 10 or Windows 11. That process requires relevant development tools, at least 45GB of free storage on top of the game files, and an extracted copy of the game's base 1.0.0 release, as later versions are not supported. The release does not supply game files, keys, or saves. NotRexed warns that numerous bugs remain, and while a local graphics cache helps subsequent sessions, stuttering can still happen during shader compilation. [1][2]

The release comes shortly after another fan project, Savage Wind Recomp, introduced an early alpha PC port of Breath of the Wild. Recompilation projects have avoided the real-time emulation techniques that previously prompted Nintendo to take legal action, such as the lawsuit that led to the $2.4 million settlement and closure of the Yuzu emulator in March 2024. Nintendo has never released either modern Zelda title on PC, though it brought an enhanced Switch 2 Edition of Tears of the Kingdom to market in June 2025. [2]