sonicnext-dev/MarathonRecomp

Project overview

Marathon Recompiled is an unofficial PC port of the Xbox 360 release of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), built through static recompilation. The original PowerPC game code and Xenos shaders are converted into C++ and HLSL by the related XenonRecomp and XenosRecomp tools, producing a native build for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It requires a legally acquired copy of the Xbox 360 game; no game assets are bundled.

The project targets players who already own the 2006 Xbox 360 title and want to play it natively on a desktop OS. It is not a standalone game and does not distribute copyrighted content. Character and physics behavior from the original is preserved, including original bugs, with optional quality-of-life patches exposed through the configuration file or debug settings.

Requirements

The port expects a 64-bit x86 CPU with AVX (or 64-bit ARMv8), a GPU supporting Direct3D 12.0 with Shader Model 6, Vulkan 1.2, or Metal 3, at least 8 GB of RAM, and 6 GiB of storage. Supported operating systems are Windows 10 1909, a modern Linux distribution, and macOS 15.0 or newer. Full details are in the minimum system requirements.

Quick start

1. Acquire the game files from your own Xbox 360 disc or digital copy. Follow the appropriate dumping guide for an Xbox 360 hard drive, Xbox 360 USB storage, or OmniDrive-compatible disc drive. The Xbox 360 itself does not need modifications.
2. Download the latest release from the releases page and extract it to the directory where you want the game installed.
3. Run the executable and follow the installer prompts to point it at the dumped files. Use Add Files for containers or images dumped from the console; the installer detects their contents. Use Add Folder only when you have a directory of already-extracted raw game files such as .xex, .ar.00, or .arl, because this option does not scan for compatible content.
4. After installation, launch the executable to start the game. Updates are applied by copying new release files over the existing installation; save data and configuration are kept.

Configuration and saves

Save data and config.toml live under %APPDATA%\MarathonRecomp\ on Windows, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/MarathonRecomp/ on Linux, and ~/Library/Application Support/MarathonRecomp/ on macOS; the Flatpak build uses ~/.var/app/io.github.sonicnext_dev.marathonrecomp/config/MarathonRecomp/. Keyboard and mouse bindings can be changed in config.toml, though a controller is recommended until action remapping is added. Placing an empty portable.txt file in the installation directory forces saves and configuration to stay there.

Constraints and known issues

Installation only accepts original, unmodified files; modified files, compressed archives passed to the installer, and mismatched regions or title updates will fail validation. PlayStation 3 game files cannot be used, since they would require a separate recompilation. The Steam Deck file picker may require booting at least once into Desktop Mode before it works in Game Mode. External frame rate limiters and performance overlays may degrade performance. Bugs inherited from the original game are intentionally kept; only bugs specific to this port should be reported, with footage from original hardware demonstrating the difference. Only Windows, Linux, and macOS are planned for support. The project is licensed under GPL-3.0, and builds should come only from the official releases page.

HotRepo's take

The repository sits in the games topic and gained 90 stars in a single daily C++ snapshot dated 2026-11-15, reaching third place on that language-specific daily list. That is one recorded snapshot, so it shows a burst of attention around that date rather than a sustained trend. For readers, the more meaningful signal is the project structure: a static-recompilation port of a specific 2006 title, with separate recompilers and explicit requirements around owning and dumping the original game. The main practical question is whether a release binary matches its source; the README directs users to official releases and warns against third-party builds.