GitHub - mchughalex/skate3recomp

5 min read Original article ↗
Skate 3 Native PC Recompilation

An unofficial native recompilation of the Xbox 360 version of Skate 3, supporting Windows, Linux, and macOS. Built with a Skate-specific rexglue SDK fork.

The game is currently capable of running at ~165FPS at 4K with MSAA, using an RTX 4090.

The project does not include Skate 3 retail game files. To run or build the project, you must provide files from your own legally obtained Xbox 360 copy of Skate 3.

Gameplay (click to go to YouTube):

Skate 3 Recomp gameplay

How Do I Play?

Notes:

  • The Windows version is the most tested, followed by Linux, and then macOS.
  • On some hardware configurations, you may have a better experience running the Windows version through a translation layer like Proton rather than the native Linux build itself.
  • The macOS ARM build is very experimental and therefore much more prone to issues.

Windows

  1. Download the latest release Skate3Recomp-Windows.zip from the releases page.
  2. Extract it anywhere you like, to a folder you control.
  3. Run skate3.exe.
  4. Click "Select ISO" to select your legally obtained copy of Skate 3.
  5. Wait for the installer to extract the game files.
  6. Click "Start Game".

Linux

  1. Download the latest release Skate3Recomp-Linux.zip from the releases page.
  2. Extract it anywhere you like, to a folder you control.
  3. Run skate3.
  4. Click "Select ISO" to select your legally obtained copy of Skate 3.
  5. Wait for the installer to extract the game files.
  6. Click "Start Game".

macOS (ARM / Experimental)

  1. Download the latest release Skate3Recomp-macOS.zip from the releases page.
  2. Extract it anywhere you like, to a folder you control.
  3. Run skate3 by double-clicking or "./skate3" in the Terminal.
  4. You may need to approve it in System Preferences before macOS will allow you to run it.
  5. Click "Select ISO" to select your legally obtained copy of Skate 3.
  6. Wait for the installer to extract the game files.
  7. Click "Start Game".

Installing DLC

To use DLC, you must provide package files from your own legally obtained Xbox 360 DLC.

Create a dlc folder either beside the executable, inside the installed game folder, or in the user data folder. Place the DLC package files in that folder and start the game.

True 21:9 Ultrawide

The builds include an experimental true ultrawide aspect ratio mode at 21:9. You may notice occasional visual bugs or graphical glitches, especially around shadows. Performance is somewhat reduced.

Controls

  • Standard Xbox controls using an Xbox controller are the preferred and main input method. DualShock and others are untested, but are likely to work with Steam Input through XInput.
  • Keyboard controls can be enabled in the game settings menu.
  • Press Escape on keyboard or (Back + Start) on the controller to open the game settings menu.

Keyboard Keybinds

  • Left stick: W/A/S/D
  • Right stick: mouse movement
  • A/B/X/Y: Space/C/E/F
  • LT/RT: RMB/LMB
  • LB/RB: Q/R
  • Left stick press: Shift
  • Right stick press: MMB
  • Back/Start: Tab/Return

Building from Source

Clone with submodules:

git clone --recursive <repo-url> skate3recomp
cd skate3recomp

If you already cloned without submodules:

git submodule sync --recursive
git submodule update --init --recursive --jobs "$(nproc 2>/dev/null || echo 4)"

The build-time codegen needs an extracted game dump containing default.xex and data/webkit/EAWebkit.xex. Put that dump in game/, or pass a path with SKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT.

Generate the recompiled source first:

cmake --preset relwithdebinfo -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$PWD/game"
cmake --build --preset relwithdebinfo --target generate-all --parallel

Then reconfigure so CMake sees the generated source lists and build:

cmake --preset relwithdebinfo -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$PWD/game"
cmake --build --preset relwithdebinfo --parallel

For release packaging, use the release preset on Windows or the linux-release preset on Linux.

Ubuntu/Linux Build

These instructions target Ubuntu 24.04 LTS on x86_64. Other distributions need the same toolchain shape: CMake, Ninja, Clang 20 or newer, Vulkan development headers, GTK 3 development headers, and SDL-compatible audio/input development packages.

ReXGlue requires Clang. Clang 20 is recommended on Ubuntu because it matches the Linux toolchain used by the rexglue SDK CI and avoids Ubuntu 24.04's Clang 18/libstdc++ std::expected feature-test mismatch.

Install LLVM's apt repository and dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wget gnupg lsb-release software-properties-common
wget https://apt.llvm.org/llvm.sh
chmod +x llvm.sh
sudo ./llvm.sh 20
sudo apt install -y \
  git cmake ninja-build build-essential pkg-config p7zip-full \
  clang-20 lld-20 \
  libgtk-3-dev libx11-xcb-dev \
  libvulkan-dev vulkan-tools mesa-vulkan-drivers \
  libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libpipewire-0.3-dev libudev-dev

Optional packages improve controller/input and diagnostics coverage in SDL:

sudo apt install -y libusb-1.0-0-dev libunwind-dev libibus-1.0-dev liburing-dev

Initialize submodules and verify the local environment:

./scripts/bootstrap-linux.sh

Configure, generate, reconfigure, and build a development build:

cmake --preset linux-relwithdebinfo -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$PWD/game"
cmake --build --preset linux-relwithdebinfo --target generate-all --parallel
cmake --preset linux-relwithdebinfo -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$PWD/game"
cmake --build --preset linux-relwithdebinfo --parallel

Build a Linux release:

cmake --preset linux-release -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$PWD/game"
cmake --build --preset linux-release --target generate-all --parallel
cmake --preset linux-release -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$PWD/game"
cmake --build --preset linux-release --parallel

The release artifacts are:

out/build/linux-release/skate3
out/build/linux-release/librexruntime.so

Running a Development Build

On Linux:

The launcher sets LD_LIBRARY_PATH for development builds, passes --game_data_root="$PWD/game", and selects SDL controller input on Linux. To use a game dump outside the repository:

SKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="/path/to/extracted/game" ./scripts/run-linux.sh

Keyboard-to-controller emulation is off by default. Pass --mnk_mode or set SKATE3_MNK=1 to enable it:

SKATE3_MNK=1 ./scripts/run-linux.sh

Fullscreen is on by default. Pass --no-fullscreen to start windowed. On Windows, ultrawide displays are detected automatically in fullscreen. For an ultrawide window, pass matching --window_width and --window_height values; the renderer keeps the guest frontbuffer at a stable 16:9 size while applying ultrawide presentation and Hor+ correction without stretching.

To run the Linux development executable directly:

LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$PWD/third_party/rexglue-sdk/out/linux-amd64${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}" \
  ./out/build/linux-relwithdebinfo/skate3 --game_data_root="$PWD/game" --input_backend=sdl

rexglue Fork

third_party/rexglue-sdk is pinned as a Git submodule to the skate3-sdk-clean branch of the Skate-specific rexglue fork. Clone recursively or run:

git submodule sync --recursive
git submodule update --init --recursive --jobs "$(nproc 2>/dev/null || echo 4)"

The fork is based on rexglue's 0.8.0 release line and contains the Skate 3 runtime, codegen, input, graphics, timing, and Linux fixes needed by this project.

Credits

  • rexglue SDK, the recompilation SDK used by this project.
  • Xenia, whose Xbox 360 research and tooling have helped the broader recompilation ecosystem.