ReactOS on ARM has learned to run 64-bit Windows games on x86 – in the most roundabout way possible, of course

One of the developers of the ReactOS project, an open operating system that aims to provide binary compatibility with Windows drivers and software, has come up with an interesting software package. He found a way to run x64-bit games and applications on x86 processors on Arm machines.

Image source: x.com/sidihmeed

Developer Ahmed Arif is responsible for several experimental projects porting ReactOS to the ARM64 architecture, combining the platform with the open source FEX simulator. This mechanism opens up the possibility of initiating x64 bit Games and apps for Windows on PCs with Arm processors. Support for ARM64 hardware appeared this year, and the FEX emulator is now working in this environment.

The ReactOS developer community describes this achievement as “Critical stage” during the development of the project. As a demo it is released video Game “Super Mario 64”. ARM64 support is progressing smoothly, not only due to FEX integration, but also due to updates to the main code. In addition to his previous work on the current Raspberry Pi 5, Ahmed was also able to run ReactOS on an older Raspberry Pi 3 single board computer using custom drivers for Ethernet and Wi-Fi.