ReXGlue: the tool that wants to do for the Xbox 360 what N64 Recompiled did for the N64
Do you remember the N64 Recompiled revolution? This project which allowed to run N64 games natively on PC, at 4K and 60fps, with mods support, without emulation? The same thing is happening for the Xbox 360, thanks to ReXGlue.
🔧 What is exactly ent ReXGlue?
ReXGlue is a static recompilation SDK for Xbox 360 games, created by developer Tom Clay. The principle: instead of emulating the Xbox 360's PowerPC processor on the fly (which Xenia does), ReXGluec onverts the game code to C++ upstream, which is then compiled natively for Windows, Linux or macOS.
Concretely, what does that mean? Native PC ports of Xbox 360 games, with the advantages that this implies:
- Performance much superior to emulation
- Native mods support
- Unlimited resolutions and framerates
- Custom sation of the renderer
- Bug fixes impossible to do via an emulator
🎮 Ports already in development
A few weeks after the launch of the SDK, the community took hold of the tool. Current projects:
- Blue Dragon, the JRPG by Akira Toriyama and Hironobu Sakaguchi, exc lusive 360 in Japan
- Lost Odyssey, Mistwalker’s JRPG, never released on anything other than the 360
- Ninja Gaiden 2, the original version, absent from the modern versions (Sigma 2 and 2 Black change the gameplay a lot)
- Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2
- From the first ports of e Crackdown and Fable 2 also mentioned
⚖️ The difference with emulation
ReXGlue is based on Xenia for the graphics layer, but Tom Clay insists on the fundamental difference: "It's not just an emulator. It's a platform. Static recompilation opens impossible doors in JIT, deep moding, native subsystem replacements, specific hardware optimizations." >For preservation, this is huge. Games like Ninja Gaiden 2, Blue Dragon or Lost Odyssey are currently unobtainable legally outside of the original Xbox 360. ReXGlue could give them a long-lasting second life.
📥 How does it work?
The SDK is available at GitHub (rexglue/rexglue-sdk). The project is still in early development, don't expect to play Lost Odyssey perfectly yet. But the direction is clearly defined.
Sources: Read Only Memo (interview)- Time Extension - GitHub