Over the past few days I’ve been collecting tweets about people using AI to reverse-engineer games, build ports, and get them running on different hardware. I wanted to understand how much of this was real, and the more I looked into it, the more interesting it became. I started thinking, “this is a new Renaissance for Gaming”. I can feel that there’s a lot of excitement and the movement is gaining momentum.

First example, Halo Combat Evolved. A developer decompiled it and built a browser version. It even supports multiplayer.

Decompilation doesn’t stop with Halo. Several projects are using AI agents to help reverse-engineer games. It seems that newer models have made this work more accessible to people with some technical knowledge, even if they aren’t reverse-engineering experts I suppose.

Another approach: Benilla is a replacement client for World of Warcraft 1.12.1, written from scratch in Rust and Bevy. It connects to compatible servers and uses assets from an existing game installation.

These are just some examples I took from my recent bookmarks, there’s more stuff indeed (the new PS5 jailbreak that executes totally on-device, PS5 emulator forks tailored to run specific games on PC at 60 FPS, games like RDR2 and GTA V running locally on an iPhone 18 Pro Max, …). But we can recognize some patterns and see that these projects work in different ways: some are decompiling, others are rewriting clients or improving an emulator. And once usable code exists, the community can adapt graphics, audio, input and more to a new environment. Games that I used to play on console several years ago that now run on a browser, or on my iPhone… I mean, when I think about it rationally, I tell myself that it’s certainly possible now. But when I look at it from an emotional perspective, I can’t help but view this new movement with enthusiasm.

Of course AI is helping these activities. It assists with decompilation, writing compatibility layers, working through errors. Things that previously demanded more time or expertise than someone could afford are moving within reach. The possibilities are now endless.

The browser deserves a mention of its own, which as an environment adds something especially interesting. Compiling the code into WebAssembly, allowing the game to run while WebGL or WebGPU handles graphics. There is still porting work involved, but being able to send a friend a link to a playable Halo CE is exciting to me.

That is where my Renaissance idea becomes meaningful. Fans have always wanted to preserve, modify, and extend their favorite games. I think community ambitions have often exceeded the resources available, but newer models are changing the equation.