Finding native console ports for PC is usually a headache, since each one lives in a different GitHub repository, but that could be about to change. Recomp Store, known as the Steam of ports, has arrived on PC with a free catalog that brings together in one place titles like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Bloodborne, and God of War III that run without an emulator.
The announcement was made on October 26 by its own creator, who confirmed on X that “Recomp Store expanded to PC,” and hinted that “the launcher arrives soon”, so for now it functions as a site to discover ports, while the one-click installation will arrive later. The creator also presented the PC version on Reddit, where the community proposed the name RecompLauncher, which ended up adopting it for the catalog and its future app, and he assured that the idea is for the Steam of ports to remain free.
What is the Steam of Ports
Recomp Store began as a jailbroken PS5 app store that since October 12 installs and updates from the console native versions of rebuilt games like GTA IV, GoldenEye 007 and Halo, in addition to emulators and tools, and now makes the jump to PC with its own catalog at recompstore.com/pc.
The idea is to gather the native console ports for Windows, Linux and Mac, i.e., games that were rebuilt or ported to run directly on a computer, without going through an emulator. The catalog includes more than 200 projects, though not all can be played or downloaded yet, with titles from Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii U, Switch, PlayStation, PS2, PSP, PS4, Xbox and Xbox 360, organized into categories such as action, fighting, adventure, platformers, racing, shooters, sports and RPGs.
As user Aman summarized on X, the Steam of ports makes it easier to discover “native console ports and projects you probably never knew existed”, something that is evident in the catalog, which blends widely known classics with far less publicized projects.
The most popular games on the Steam of Ports
The site features a ranking of the most downloaded PC ports, based on the versions its creators publish on GitHub, and at the top mix the big Nintendo classics with some of PlayStation’s most requested exclusives.
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, with Ship of Harkinian
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, with Dusklight
- Sonic Unleashed, with Unleashed Recompiled
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, with 2 Ship 2 Harkinian
- Bloodborne, with Bloodborne PC
- God of War III Remastered, with SpartanPort
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, with Zelda 64 Recompiled
- Mario Kart 64, with SpaghettiKart
- Star Fox 64, with Starship
- Banjo-Kazooie, with Banjo Recompiled
Farther down the list appear other notable names, such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Skate 3, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Uncharted, Driveclub, Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu, Silent Hill, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Pikmin and Fable II, among many others.
How to use the Steam of Ports on your PC
- Open recompstore.com/pc from your browser, no account creation or downloads required to start exploring.
- Choose the port you want to play, whether by browsing the catalog, by category, or in the most-downloaded ranking.
- Check what the game needs on its page, because ports never include the game itself, and each one explains which own copy it requires, such as a Nintendo 64 ROM, a disc image, or your console’s file.
- Download the version for your system, be it Windows, Linux or Mac, which takes you directly to the creator’s official GitHub publication.
- Prepare the game with your copy and play, following the instructions for each port, which vary by title.
What’s missing and what to consider
The launcher that elripalda promised is the key piece, because according to the site itself, the RecompLauncher “will install, update and launch your recomps for you, and will prepare your game files”, something that on the PS5 version works without losing saves or mods, and that would make the Steam of ports the easiest way to play these games on PC.
Additionally, the port creators can submit their games or create a developer account, with their own page, statistics and players, for both PC and PS5, so the catalog should continue to grow.
That said, many of the ports in the catalog are Nintendo games, a company that in recent weeks began removing GitHub projects of this type, such as the Rhythm Heaven port, so some games on the list could disappear if the company decides to pursue them.
While the launcher arrives, those who don’t want to wait have an alternative, since Quiver Launcher offers a downloadable application for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android that installs and updates these ports, albeit with its own catalog.