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GTA IV for Nintendo Switch (homebrew)

Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, USA, Title Update 8) running natively on the Nintendo Switch as a homebrew NRO. Private test build: please do not share it outside this repository.

No game files are included. You need your own copy of the game.

Status

Playable, still in testing. Measured on a Switch v1 (Erista) in docked mode, with stock clocks (CPU 1785 MHz / GPU 768 MHz / RAM 1600 MHz) and the included performance profile:

| Where | Frame rate |

| Interiors, the pier, open roads | ~22–30 fps | | City on foot | ~12–17 fps | | Driving through dense city traffic | ~10–16 fps |

The game is capped at 30 fps. Raising performance in the city is the main work in progress.

How it works (overview)

There is no emulator. The game's original PowerPC code is statically recompiled ahead of time and built as a native ARM program for the Switch, and its graphics are drawn natively through Vulkan. The Switch port adds the platform layer, rendering, audio and performance work needed to run it on the console.

Requirements

• A Nintendo Switch running custom firmware (Atmosphère).
• Your own GTA IV Xbox 360 disc image (USA) and Title Update 8 (TU_1A581VI_...).
• About 10 GB free on the SD card.

Installation

1. Download gta4nx.nro and native.toml from the latest release.
2. Copy them to the SD card:

   sdmc:/switch/gta4nx/gta4nx.nro
   sdmc:/switch/gta4nx/LibertyRecomp/native.toml
   

3. Extract your disc image and copy the game files and the title update:

   sdmc:/switch/gta4nx/install/gta4_disc/              <- contents of the disc
   sdmc:/switch/gta4nx/install/TU_1A581VI_...          <- Title Update 8
   

Launching

1. Open any installed game while holding R to enter the Homebrew Menu in title mode, which gives the game the full memory. Do not launch it from the Album.
2. Select GTA IV.
3. The first start installs the game data and builds the shader cache. This takes a while, and the game stutters for the first few minutes.

Known issues

• City frame rate stays under 20 fps, especially while driving through traffic. The CPU is the limit.
• One hospital interior drops to ~10 fps.
• The performance profile trades looks for speed: lighter traffic and pedestrians, no sun shadows or reflections, shorter view distance.
• The 640x360 internal resolution (upscaled with FSR 1) looks soft on a TV.
• Out of memory: raising gta4_streaming_budget_scale above 1.0 in native.toml can make the game run out of memory and close after a few minutes. Keep the value from the included profile.
• Shader stutter: the first minutes after an update stutter while shaders are rebuilt.
• Home Menu forwarder: launching from a forwarder icon shows an error. Use the Homebrew Menu in title mode.

Reporting problems

Open an issue with:

• where you were (city on foot, driving, a mission, an interior) and how the frame rate felt;
• what you were doing if the game closed or froze, and roughly how long after starting;
• the folder sdmc:/switch/gta4nx/logs/ (zipped).

Credits

This Switch port is built on the work of these projects and people:

• Liberty Recompiled: the static recompilation of GTA IV for Xbox 360 that this port is based on.
• LibertyRecompAndroid (vaduur): the ARM64 port this Switch version starts from.
• ReXGlue (Tom Clay), derived from Xenia (Ben Vanik and contributors): the Xbox 360 recompilation runtime.
• mesa-switch (danfromtico, NaGaa95): the NVK Vulkan driver for the Switch.
• StevensND: the Need for Speed: Most Wanted Switch port, a key reference.
• switchbrew / devkitPro (libnx and the toolchain) and FFmpeg (audio decoding).

License

Liberty Recompiled and LibertyRecompAndroid are licensed under the GNU GPL v3, and so is this port. Testers who receive the build can request the source of the Switch modifications from the repository owner.

Grand Theft Auto IV is © Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive. This is a non-commercial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by them. No game data files are distributed here; the build only works with your own copy of the game.