The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 has reportedly been dumped, and it's already running on PC, in the loosest sense of the word. Tom's Hardware reports that copies of the remake have been circulating outside Nintendo's channels since launch, while PC Gamer reports it stumbling along on an experimental emulator within hours of the November 5 release.
The two reports differ on timing. Tom's Hardware says the game was dumped the day it launched, and PC Gamer points to a post on X saying the files were out before release. That second one isn't as strange as it sounds: Tom's Hardware says physical copies started reaching buyers several days early. Xarmo couldn't check the original posts or reports directly, so everything here is as those outlets describe it, and Tom's Hardware says Nintendo hasn't publicly commented.
How the files got out
The report Tom's Hardware cites comes from a source it calls ONE jailbreak, which says copies of the 1.0.0 release and the 1.1.1 update are in circulation, with the update reportedly weighing 23GB. It names two tools, ns2jb and OunceCake. The first is a software jailbreak from security researcher Sammy "pepsipu" Hajhamid, who has described it as a way to run homebrew, mod Switch 2 games and back up save files. The same extraction method has reportedly been used on Deltarune Chapters 1-4 and Mario Kart World.
There are limits, though. Tom's Hardware says ns2jb is tethered, so it has to be activated again after every restart, and it doesn't provide unrestricted kernel access. SmileBASIC 4, the application used to launch it, has also disappeared from the eShop since the exploit was disclosed.
Running, sort of
The PC footage makes a better clip than a game. PC Gamer points to videos of the remake on Lichii, an open-source emulator whose GitHub page calls it "VERY experimental." A launch-day video reached around 20 to 30 fps in gameplay. Another, 12 hours later, showed 30 to 60 fps on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D with an RTX 4080, with flickering and stutter still in the mix.
Tom's Hardware paints a rougher picture, reporting black screens, washed-out visuals, terrain bleeding through objects and users who couldn't get past the title screen. It says the game remains far from playable on PC. PC Gamer agrees there's a long way to go before it matches the Switch 2.
Meanwhile, a strategy game's chat box
Here's the weird part of the week. Kotaku separately reports that hackers have been using physical copies of Civilization 7's original Switch version as a way into the Switch 2. As Kotaku describes it, an unpatched exploit lets users activate code through the game's in-game chat with a connected USB device, like a phone. The exploit is called CivSwitch, and Kotaku traces it to hacker and modder Gezine. The digital version doesn't work, which is why the cartridge suddenly matters.
This one comes from Kotaku alone, so treat it as Kotaku's reporting. It says the exploit can't currently be used to play dumped Switch 2 games, but gives access to saves, modding and homebrew apps. It also says 2K has reportedly begun recalling the physical game, based on users claiming cancelled orders and a translated Amazon message citing "technical and security-related requirements." Kotaku says it has contacted 2K for more information.
What to watch
Nintendo has taken action against this kind of project before. Tom's Hardware notes that it targeted more than 400 GitHub repositories in August through seven DMCA notices, and PC Gamer notes that Yuzu's developers settled with Nintendo of America in 2024 and shut the project down. None of the three outlets reports a response from Nintendo to the Ocarina of Time dump, or a confirmed recall from 2K, so those are the two answers to look for next.
Reporting notes
