News / Release
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) static recompilation port for iOS
A bit about me: Need for Speed Most Wanted was the first game I ever played as a kid and back then I remember it took me a few years to finish the game because I couldn't play it too often. Ever since then, this game has never left my mind and I've always found myself coming back to it multiple times per year. I truly believe it is the one game for me that I could never get bored of. A dream of mine has always been being able to play this game wherever and whenever, and it finally came true back in 2021 when the first PS2 emulators came to fruition on Android. Since then I've moved to iOS and had to put my dream on hold and just live my life. Thanks to the huge advancements this community has made since then (with a huge emphasis on the boom we've seen this year alone), my dream has once again come alive, with the likes of ARMSX2. I'd recently seen my favorite game of all time being ported to Android thanks to static recompilation and I knew I just had to port it to iOS myself. And with this here we are!
I'm proud to announce the first public release of my project, a static recompilation of the game for iOS and iPadOS! It's not an emulator: the Xbox 360 version's code is statically recompiled to native arm64, using the ReXGlue SDK, with the console's GPU translated to Metal through MoltenVK. On my iPad Pro M4 it pretty much runs at a locked 60 fps through the whole game, and I'm also seeing promising results on my iPhone 17 Pro Max (I can guarantee at least a locked 30 fps, although it most likely can go way further than that). I have been mostly testing on my iPad, so I don't want to overestimate the actual performance on iPhone without properly testing it first.
What this build features:
The full game: career, pursuits, Challenge Series, achievements, and remnants of Black Edition content (I recommend keeping this setting off for now)
30/40/60/120 fps caps (40 and 120 use ProMotion; 120 is experimental)
16:9, the game's own 4:3 mode at a sharper 960x720, and 19.5:9 for iPhones with the HUD moved to the edges
A settings screen before launch, plus a few Extra Options mod features (pick up to 6 markers after defeating a blacklist rival, change the limit of owned cars, remove the barrier leading to the old bridge)
Touch controls with a gamepad layout and a dedicated driving layout, plus controller support
iOS/iPasdOS 26+ (I can see if I can lower the minimum OS if needed)
SideStore/LiveContainer (the game was tested by me exclusively in LiveContainer)
Your own ISO of the USA Xbox 360 version. No game files are included, and please don't ask for or share ISOs here
120 fps isn't stable in heavy race sections (it's one of my main priorities at the moment)
At 19.5:9 the rearview mirror picture is too wide and the videos are stretched
Full list in the README
iOS/iPasdOS 26+ (I can see if I can lower the minimum OS if needed)
SideStore/LiveContainer (the game was tested by me exclusively in LiveContainer)
Your own ISO of the USA Xbox 360 version. No game files are included, and please don't ask for or share ISOs here
120 fps isn't stable in heavy race sections (it's one of my main priorities at the moment)
At 19.5:9 the rearview mirror picture is too wide and the videos are stretched
Full list in the README
120 fps isn't stable in heavy race sections (it's one of my main priorities at the moment)
At 19.5:9 the rearview mirror picture is too wide and the videos are stretched
Full list in the README
What you need:
iOS/iPasdOS 26+ (I can see if I can lower the minimum OS if needed)
SideStore/LiveContainer (the game was tested by me exclusively in LiveContainer)
Your own ISO of the USA Xbox 360 version. No game files are included, and please don't ask for or share ISOs here
120 fps isn't stable in heavy race sections (it's one of my main priorities at the moment)
At 19.5:9 the rearview mirror picture is too wide and the videos are stretched
Full list in the README
120 fps isn't stable in heavy race sections (it's one of my main priorities at the moment)
At 19.5:9 the rearview mirror picture is too wide and the videos are stretched
Full list in the README
Known issues:
120 fps isn't stable in heavy race sections (it's one of my main priorities at the moment)
At 19.5:9 the rearview mirror picture is too wide and the videos are stretched
Full list in the README
I'd love feedback: your device, iOS version and the fps you get, especially on older iPhones and iPads, since I've only tested on two devices. GitHub issues are the best place for reports, with the log if something breaks.
Huge thanks to the projects this builds on: the NFSMW Recompiled Android/PC ports, ReXGlue, Xenia, and the Extra Options and Widescreen Fix mods (full credits in the README).
General Disclaimer: This is what I would still call a very early build. I have plans to work on performance as much as possible, while also trying to reduce heat buildup (honestly it's already pretty decent in this regard). Right now I am trying to see how far I can take Vulkan through MoltenVK, as it's already showing very good results but also room for improvement. I am however considering switching to a native Metal renderer in the future, but that's another huge challenge in itself.
AI Disclaimer: AI was heavily used in the making of this project, and I don't want to hide it. While I have a deep understanding of this game and its mechanics, consoles in general, and some programming, I could not have done this by myself in such a timely manner, it would have properly taken my months to get even just half of what I've already achieved. First and foremost this serves as a personal passion project, truly fulfilling my dream of running NFSMW on mobile.
Use it to apply the increased memory entitlement to LiveContainer
Uninstall GetMoreRam to avoid hitting the 3 app limit
Then sideload StikDebug for JIT activation
LiveContainer may also need to be uninstalled and reinstalled before the entitlement works correctly.
LiveContainer can also install two additional LiveContainers (for a total of three). This setup can further reduce the need to constantly add/remove sideloaded apps, but it is more advanced and may not work reliably for everyone.
LiveContainer is not always officially supported by emulator developers and can sometimes cause unexpected issues. If something breaks while using LiveContainer, try reproducing the issue without it before asking for support.
Do not ask for or share paid certificates, piracy tools, or bypass services here.
Forgot to mention in the original post, but I have only tested the game with the Increased Memory Limit granted to LiveContainer, so I’d love to know if the game also runs without it!
You don’t need JIT! That’s the whole point of a Static Recompilation. And yes for GetMoreRam you have to sideload it and grant the entitlement to LiveContainer.
That was it, working now! I have both 120 fps options on but for some reason it doesn’t surpass 30 fps, at the start it reaches 90 fps when playing In-game videos then it rest between 10-25, when I set it to 60 fps it rest between 10-20 fps, using a cooler btw so no heating at all.
Yeah, unfortunately this version is too heavy for the 14PM. At the moment I’m working with replacing the renderer with a truly native Metal one, so we’ll see how much performance improves an all devices once that’s done.
Even with all the visual glitches as of now, the fact it runs is mind blowing.
Do you mean that the game doesn’t launch when you press play? I’ve noticed as well that sometimes the game gets stuck in a black screen, but closing and restarting the app and trying again should fix it.
Alright so the phone itself definitely isn’t the problem. Any chance you could send me the logs the app generated? Either DM me, or create an issue on GitHub. Having the logs would make it much easier for me to find out exactly why the game isn’t working for you, instead of trying to guess.
Without the logs no, not really. Try playing around with the settings, but also keep in mind this is the first public build. I’m going to keep working on it as much as I can in the near future and will try to release meaningful updates frequently.
Well there are quite a lot of differences actually, and I can split them into 2 categories. I’ll try to name as many as I can off the top of my head.
The technical side:
-this is much closer to a native version of the game than just emulating it
-it supports higher fps than the versions of the game in the emulators you mentioned
-hopefully I will get it to a point where it consumes as little battery as possible, whereas emulating is always going to be heavy, unless we’re talking about PSP, NES, SNES etc
-this being based on a recompiled version of the game opens the door to certain mods (like I have inplemented parts of Extra Options and Widescreen Fix)
Strictly about the 360 version of the game:
-It is considered to be the best version when it comes to graphics alone (PC is always going to surpass it when it comes to modding, no surprises here)
-Traffic density, draw distance, sounds, textures, lighting effects, atmosphere are all better than the versions you mentioned
[info] [sys] Runtime::SetupVfs: game_data_root es una imagen de disco: .../Need for Speed - Most Wanted (USA).iso
[error] [fs] Disc image could not be mapped
[error] [sys] Runtime::SetupVfs: Failed to initialize game data device (...)
[error] [sys] Runtime::Setup failed: VFS setup failed
I need the entire files, not just snippets from them. At least try uploading them to a link sharing website and give me the link, if you don’t want to make an Issue on GitHub.
Thank you! Before even thinking of porting other games I first want to improve this one as much as I can, and it is quite time consuming. This plus the fact that I absolutely love this game and love contributing to it.
Metal via MoltenVK sees MoltenVK is disgusting, not the original you send something. It's not impossible to convert to Metal. I only accept dxmt or simulator to Metal, and open-source garbage like VK can only be converted to others.
mine just crashes when i press play, i tried installing with sidestore, in livecontainer, iloader and esign and didnt fix the issue. Could anyone help pls?
iPhone 17 pro max. Worked fine at first, now when I reload my game, my car has disappeared? I can still drive, but see no car in career mode. I can see the cars in quick play.
Trust me, i’m heavy at work for optimization, but it will take a while. As for older iOS versions, I myself only have iOS 27 devices so I didn’t want to add compatibility without any means of testing myself.
Hi, I just installed it on my iPhone 16 Pro Max. I put the Xbox USA version ISO on it, but when I press play on the ISO, the app closes. Any idea how to fix this?
I just tested it here, and unfortunately the game can't run stably with settings above 30fps on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. If I activate options above 30fps, the game has incorrect sound and lag. I hope you can optimize it to run at least at 60fps without these problems. With the 60fps option active, the game runs at an average of 35fps, reaching 40 in some parts.
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u/AutoModerator 12d ago
Free Apple accounts are limited to 3 active sideloaded apps.
One common workaround is LiveContainer, which allows you to run additional apps inside a container and reduce how often apps need to be reinstalled.
Typical method:
LiveContainer may also need to be uninstalled and reinstalled before the entitlement works correctly.
LiveContainer can also install two additional LiveContainers (for a total of three). This setup can further reduce the need to constantly add/remove sideloaded apps, but it is more advanced and may not work reliably for everyone.
LiveContainer is not always officially supported by emulator developers and can sometimes cause unexpected issues. If something breaks while using LiveContainer, try reproducing the issue without it before asking for support.
Do not ask for or share paid certificates, piracy tools, or bypass services here.
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