A new Mac app called TVPort lets users build Nintendo Switch games dumped from their own console into Apple TV apps, so they can play Nintendo Switch games on Apple TV 4K. It takes a Mac with Xcode and a user’s own game dump, and only Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have been tested on the Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) so far.
The TVPort project on GitHub is an open-source fork of nxnative, a project by seedds that runs Switch games on iPhone and iPad, and version 1.0 came out recently.
TVPort lets you play Nintendo Switch games on Apple TV
Each game gets only the settings it supports, chosen from render mode, texture detail, 3D resolution, frame rate and heat. TVPort currently offers the 3D resolution setting for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and a 30 fps frame rate setting makes the TV do half the work.
The developer says TVPort is not an emulator, because the game’s own code runs on the Apple chip and its graphics are rebuilt on Metal. tvOS closes an app at 2,097 MB while the Switch gives a game about 3.2 GB, so TVPort backs the game’s memory with a file that tvOS can page out to flash. The repository also carries notes for AI coding agents, including a guide for an agent asked to analyse a Switch game and port it.
Setup takes a Mac with Xcode and an Apple TV in developer mode
You need an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 26.6 or later and Xcode 27.1, plus an Apple TV 4K with tvOS 26 or later that is in developer mode and paired with Xcode.
The developer ran three games on the same Apple TV 4K with tvOS 27.2, using Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In one run, Super Mario Odyssey held 59 to 60 fps in Handheld mode at Medium texture detail after a scene transition. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the demanding one. In the area after the opening movie, it went from 15 fps to 30 fps at 75% 3D resolution.
The Apple TV 4K has no fan, so tvOS lowers the chip’s clocks on its own when it reports a serious thermal state. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom reached that state within 20 to 40 seconds of launch in most runs, and its loading screens slow down because loading runs on the CPU.
The developer has tested only the third-generation model with the A15 chip, and the Apple TV 4K (4th generation) with the A19 chip goes on sale November 13. The remote’s Back button and a controller’s B button do not leave a game, so you use the TV button instead.
A game’s first build takes 30 to 60 minutes, and later builds take a few minutes. TVPort is not affiliated with Nintendo, Apple or any game publisher, and the developer says it is meant only for games you dumped from your own console.
It goes without saying that Nintendo wouldn’t be happy that users are doing this with its IP. How the company responds to this project, and various others, that are allowing its games to be repackaged and work on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and now Apple TV, is yet to be seen.
